iVlANUAL FOR 
DCAL DEFENSE 

1ENRY A. BELLOWS 




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MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 



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THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

NEW YORK • BOSTON • CHICAGO • DALLAS 
ATLANTA • SAN FRANCISCO 

MACMILLAN & CO., Limited 

LONDON • BOMBAY • CALCUTTA 
MELBOURNE 

THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, Ltd. 

TORONTO 



MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 



BY 
HENRY A. BELLOWS 

MAJOR, 13TH BATTALION, MINNESOTA HOME GUARD 



Jforn $ nrk 
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

1918 

All rights reserved 



1i zzo 

7B^ 



Copyright, 1918 

By THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

Set up and electrotyped. Published June, 1918. 






JUN 26 1918 

^CI.A497902 



So 

colonel perry harrison 

and the men of the 
13th battalion, m. h. g. 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I. The Problem of Local Defense 1 

II. Organization 6 

III. Equipment 29 

IV. Tactics 49 

V. Drill 128 

Bibliography 139 

Index 149 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

The Hollow Square and Machine Guns : Defensive and Con- 
sequently Weak Mob Tactics Frontispiece 

Facing Page 
The Pump Gun is Always an Effective Weapon for Guard 

Duty 32 

Where Motor Patrols and a Powerful Truck are Needed. . . 42 ^ 

A City Crowd in the First Stages of a Disturbance 50 

Strikers Outside a Factory Gate : First Stage of a Riot .... 52 

Rioters Pursuing Deputies who Have Just Made an Arrest. 60 

A Dangerous Stage, but Still a Case for Vigorous Crowd 

Tactics 98 

No Longer Subjects for Crowd Tactics 120 

How not to Guard a Train: a Fine Target for Concealed 

Snipers 122 

National Guardsmen, with Bayonets Fixed, Covering the 

Approach to a Factory 122 



IX 



In the preparation of this manual, the writer has been 
particularly indebted to Major James A. Moss's "Riot 
Duty/' the most valuable published work on the subject; 
to Chief Inspector Dillon and Inspector Myers, of the 
New York City Police Department, for their very helpful 
advice and cooperation; to Lieutenant-Colonel R. I. Rees, 
now of the General Staff, for his assistance and counsel 
regarding organization; to Mr. W. C. Nichols, formerly of 
the Northwest Mounted Police, for many useful sugges- 
tions; and to the officers of the 13th Battalion, Minnesota 
Home Guard, and above all to Captain L. H. Brittin, 
for unfailing assistance in the practical working out of 
the principles herein discussed. 



MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 



MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 



THE PROBLEM OF LOCAL DEFENSE 

1. The Local Defense Unit. — Along with the recent 
enormous growth of the United States Regular Army, the 
war has involved the creation all over the country of semi- 
military units formed for local defense. Many of these 
units have been organized as National Guard regiments 
under the provisions of Militia Bureau Circular Letter 
No. 3, of March 27, 1918, or as Home Guards under state 
laws, to replace the former National Guard, while others 
have been established under county or municipal authority 
to supplement the regular and permanent forces of the 
local police. Whatever the status of these local defense 
units, they all have certain characteristics in common. 
They are all composed largely, if not entirely, of volunteers 
who retain their business or professional activities, and 
who are prepared to serve, within well-defined geographical 
limits,' either without any compensation whatever or at a 
nominal pay. Their mission is primarily preventive; 
they exist to prevent disorder from starting, or from reach- 
ing any serious magnitude, rather than to quell disturb- 
ances which have already passed beyond the control of 



2 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 

the civil authorities. They are all backed by some form 
of legal authority, whether state, county or municipal. 
These three points may be accepted as fundamental. 

2. The Unit as a Training School. — In many cases 
these semi-military organizations have a twofold func- 
tion: not only do they aim to preserve peace and order in 
their communities, but they serve as military training 
schools for men who, though not yet in federal service, 
are eager to be as well prepared as possible when the call 
reaches them. Many men who are now noncommissioned 
officers in the National Army owe their rapid promotion 
to the fact that, before they were drafted into federal 
service, they had learned the fundamentals of military 
discipline in one of these local defense units. Thousands 
of men over or under the present draft age are now sim- 
ilarly preparing for the time when the government may 
demand their services. Military training of any sort has 
been so rare in this country that, in the present great 
emergency, every opportunity to "learn the game" is of 
immense value. 

3. Importance of the Work. — There can be no ques- 
tion whatsoever that, in fullfilling their double function 
of local defense and military training, these semi-military 
organizations are rendering the country a very important 
service. Domestic conditions are such that practically 
every community is acutely conscious of the need of some 
trained and organized body which can, in an emergency, 
supplement the regular forces of the police. Industrial 
disturbances have been accentuated by war-time economic 
conditions; sabotage of one sort and another is not in- 



THE PROBLEM OF LOCAL DEFENSE 3 

frequent; above all, there is the constant menace of that 
element, of still unknown size and strength, which is 
definitely and actively opposed to the nation's course in 
the war, and which has allied to itself the scattered but 
dangerous group which is deliberately working in behalf 
of the common enemy. The existence of a trained body 
of men, known to be ready for an emergency, is in itself a 
vast protection against lawlessness on any extensive scale. 
Furthermore, the duration of the war, and the conditions 
which will exist at its close, as yet defy guesswork; all we 
know surely is that the United States has suddenly found 
itself in armed competition with nations in which military 
training has long been compulsory and universal. For the 
present the national government can do no more than raise, 
organize, train, equip and maintain the actual fighting 
army; the building up of a national reserve, from which 
future first-line troops can at need be drawn, must be 
left largely to local initiative. Experience has shown that 
men will not respond largely to a call for mere drill, un- 
less the element of local defense be added. It is safe to 
say that several hundred thousand men are today re- 
ceiving in local defense units training which, if the war 
continues another year and a half, will immensely expedite 
the work of whipping the new national armies into 
shape. 

4. Lack of a Manual. — One handicap has been par- 
ticularly apparent in the training and organization of 
these forces for local defense. No manual has been 
formulated for the guidance of the officers, and the 
existing Army manuals, designed as they are for an 



4 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 

essentially different purpose, manifestly fail to meet the 
needs of the situation. The local defense unit is first of 
all an emergency police force, and it will normally be 
used under conditions wherein it would be improper or 
undesirable to call out regular troops. Its weapons, its 
organization and its tactics ought to be unlike those of 
the Army, because its mission is fundamentally different. 
Specifically, there is no excuse for using loaded rifles or 
bayonets in dispersing a disorderly, but not riotous, 
crowd; unloaded rifles without bayonets are an unpar- 
donable form of "bluff," and thus the local defense 
officer who is searching the Army manuals for guidance 
in handling such a situation finds little that is properly 
applicable thereto. 

5. The Preventive Mission. — Various military text- 
books have admirable chapters regarding street riot 
duty, and a few excellent books on the subject have been 
published. All of these, however, are open to the same 
objection: the mission on which their instructions are 
based is that of suppression, not of prevention. They 
concern riots which have already reached such propor- 
tions that the civil authorities have appealed to the 
military to assume the burden. The very recently pub- 
lished "Police Reserve and Home Defense Guard Man- 
ual," by Major Dawkins and Inspector Cahalane, is cu- 
riously devoid of information regarding any form of riot 
service. The mission of the local defense unit is to pre- 
vent disorder from ever reaching that stage. This fun- 
damental dissimilarity in mission must never be forgotten, 
for it explains why the local defense unit is often seriously 



THE PROBLEM OF LOCAL DEFENSE 5 

handicapped by attempting to employ tactics which are 
entirely proper for regular troops. 

6. Aim of this Manual. — Any definitive military man- 
ual is necessarily an outgrowth of long and collective 
experience; and the local defense unit in the United 
States is so new, and its duties are so largely the product 
of conditions that did not exist a year ago, that no final 
formulation of rules for its guidance is at present pos- 
sible. The purpose of this book is rather to suggest than 
to formulate. It aims to make clear the principles under- 
lying the organization and tactical work of all types of 
local defense units, and to suggest a specific program 
by which these principles can be applied. From its very 
nature, much of the tactical detail is still in an experimen- 
tal state, and the writer will be grateful for any sugges- 
tions which the experiences of others engaged in this form 
of military activity may lead them to make. 



ORGANIZATION 



7. Military Basis. — Any volunteer unit, whatever its 
size, formed for the purpose of local defense should be 
organized on a military basis, and essentially in accord- 
ance with the rules laid down in Army manuals. Only 
through a formal military organization can the proper 
degree of discipline and coordination be secured, and 
in no other way can the unit fulfill its second function, 
that of giving its members training in the fundamentals 
of military service. In the case of National Guard units 
this matter is, of course, automatically taken care of, but 
local defense organizations range all the way down to 
bodies of special police, and in many cases the military 
quality is conspicuously absent. 

8. Success Depends on Discipline. — In the event of 
actual service, it is probable that any local defense unit 
will find itself greatly outnumbered. Unless the situa- 
tion is so serious as to warrant the use of rifles, bayonets 
or shotguns, the effectiveness of the unit will depend 
absolutely on its discipline: the precision and rapidity 
with which its component parts can be maneuvered 
according to the will of the commanding officer. For 
this reason, if for no other, the formal military organiza- 
tion is essential. 



ORGANIZATION 7 

9. Number of Men. — The number of men to be en- 
rolled in any local defense unit is, of course, entirely de- 
pendent on the size and nature of the community in 
which it is maintained. In general, the area to be covered 
makes less difference than the character and density of 
the population, for an efficient unit is capable of rapid 
transportation. A small and effective unit is very much 
better than a large and loosely knit one. For this reason, 
no man should be carried on the rolls who (a) is not 
physically fit to withstand a considerable amount of 
fatigue and exposure to cold or wet weather; (b) who does 
not, for any reason whatsoever, report for drill with 
regularity; (c) whose business is such that he cannot 
possibly leave it altogether, in an emergency, for several 
days together. These provisions, if strictly adhered to, 
will combine to limit the numerical strength of any local 
defense unit, and within these limits it is desirable to 
carry on recruiting as actively as possible. 

10. Physical Examination. — Before any man is en- 
rolled, he should receive a thorough physical examination. 
It is unnecessary to maintain the Army standard, but 
no man should be permitted to enroll whose health, in 
the judgment of the medical examiner, would be en- 
dangered by the fatigue and exposure necessarily in- 
cident to emergency service. The physical examination 
should be repeated at stated intervals, and should be 
prescribed for all officers and men. The physical exam- 
ination makes it undesirable to prescribe an arbitrary 
maximum age limit for men enrolling in any local de- 
fense unit. Men of draft age should be particularly urged 



8 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 

to enroll, in order that they may receive as much mil- 
itary training as possible before they are called to the 
colors. The physical examination will automatically, 
and without hard feeling, dispose of the cases of most of 
the much older men who may wish to enroll. Boys under 
eighteen or nineteen should not, as a general rule, be 
accepted. 

11. Character Important. — Officers should exercise 
great care in determining the character of any applicant 
for enrollment, proceeding much as they would do in 
the case of an applicant for a permanent and responsible 
business position. Any member of a local defense unit 
may find himself vested with full police powers, and 
there is almost unlimited opportunity for the wrong man 
to make trouble. Letters of recommendation should be 
required of applicants unknown to any of the officers, 

12. Oath of Enlistment. — Whatever the form of the 
local defense unit may be, every member should, upon 
enrollment, be required to sign some form of oath, prom- 
ise or agreement. It is desirable that this should be an 
oath administered by the civil authority — state, county 
or municipal — from which the unit derives its power to 
act. If the term of enlistment is specified, provision 
should be made whereby an honorable discharge can 
be secured, for good cause, before the term is completed. 
The oath, promise or agreement should be sufficiently 
explicit to make clear the nature and extent of all the 
major obligations it entails. 

13. Information Blanks. — At the time of enrollment, 
each man should fill out, in duplicate, a form providing 



ORGANIZATION 9 

for the following information: Date, name, age, place of 
birth, height, weight, color of eyes and hair, complexion, 
name of person to be notified in case of emergency, home 
address and telephone number, business or profession, 
business address and telephone number, married or single, 
make, kind and seating capacity of automobile (if any), 
make and calibre of rifle, shotgun and pistol or revolver 
(if any), previous military experience (if any). Spaces 
should be left on these forms for the man's company letter 
and squad number, his ordnance number, car number 
(see Paragraph 22), the report of the medical examiner, 
and such further information as his company commander 
may wish to incorporate therewith. If the local defense 
unit has the strength of merely one company, one of these 
duplicate forms should be retained by the company 
commander, the other by the first sergeant; if it is a 
battalion or a regiment, the second form should be for- 
warded to the adjutant. Even when regular state en- 
listment papers are made out, the above information 
concerning every enlisted man should be in the possession 
of his company, battalion and regimental commanders 
from the very beginning of his service. 

14. Equipment Form. — It is desirable that each man, 
at the time of enrollment, should likewise fill out a form 
giving his height, weight, chest and waist measure, size 
of hat, gloves and shoes. This form will be retained by 
the company supply sergeant, for use in making up his 
reports regarding requirements for uniforms. 

15. Size of the Company. — Any local defense unit with 
less than 100 men should be organized as a single com- 



10 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 

pany, unless geographical conditions are such as to make 
two companies absolutely imperative. In general, the 
large company is very much more effective as a basis 
of organization than the small one. Many local defense 
units suffer from an overabundance of officers, resulting 
from the small size of the companies. Tactically, the 
large company can do anything of which the smaller one 
is capable, and at the same time is far more effective as 
a fighting unit than the same number of men split into 
two or more companies. For large organizations, the 
sixteen-squad company, with from 150 to 160 officers 
and men, is the most satisfactory basis. On this the 
battalion or regiment can be built up according to Army 
regulations. 

Note. The general tendency in local defense or- 
ganizations at present seems to be to keep the com- 
panies relatively small. This is partly because 
many of the officers have been trained in the old 
National Guard companies of 60 to 100 men, partly 
because the small company is much easier for an 
inexperienced or rusty officer to handle, and partly 
because of the desire to provide commissions for 
a considerable number of men. It is also claimed 
that the division into small companies provides a 
larger number of units capable of operating inde- 
pendently. To this it may be answered that a well- 
drilled platoon or half company, commanded by a 
competent lieutenant, and with the proper number 
of noncommissioned officers, is just as effective when 
operating independently as it would be if it were 



ORGANIZATION 11 

organized as a company, while, owing to the cen- 
tralized command, a single company of 160 men is 
far more effective as a unit than two companies of 
80 men working together. This point will be fur- 
ther brought out in the discussion of tactics for 
local defense organizations. 

16. Basis for Company Organization. — The following 
is suggested as a basis for company organization: one 
captain; one first lieutenant; one second lieutenant; one 
first sergeant; one supply sergeant; one mess sergeant; 
one hospital sergeant, attached; nine duty sergeants 
(one commander third platoon, eight section com- 
manders); 17 squad leaders (16 assigned to squads, one 
company clerk); 120 privates (112 assigned to 16 squads, 
8 file-closers); two mechanics; one hospital orderly, 
attached; two musicians. Total, three officers, 155 en- 
listed men. 

17. The Battalion. — If the number of companies is 
two, three, four or five, the unit should be organized as a 
battalion. It is often advisable to effect a battalion or- 
ganization for companies formed separately in adjacent 
towns. The battalion field and staff should consist of a 
major, an adjutant, a supply officer, a surgeon, an ord- 
nance officer, a sergeant major, a supply sergeant, an 
ordnance sergeant and a hospital sergeant. If a band or 
drum corps can be organized and attached to the Head- 
quarters Company, under the command of the Adjutant, 
so much the better. If possible, the Surgeon should 
organize an Ambulance Company, formed for instruc- 
tion and drill independently of the line companies, and 



12 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 

capable of acting either as a unit, when the battalion is 
operating as a whole, or of splitting into several parts, 
each under one of the hospital sergeants attached to the 
companies, in case the companies are called on to work 
independently, or in widely separated districts. At least 
two clerks and four orderlies, who may under normal 
circumstances drill with their respective companies, 
should be detailed for staff duty on active service, and 
should receive special training for this work. The fact 
that, under ordinary conditions, some of the staff officers 
and noncommissioned officers may find relatively little 
to do in no way lessens the importance of having them 
definitely assigned. All administrative duties affecting 
more than a single company should be carefully mapped 
out, and each staff officer should thoroughly familiarize 
himself with his actual or possible duties, taking into 
account every contingency which can be foreseen. 

18. Larger Units. — If the unit consists of more than 
five companies, and less than fourteen, it should be or- 
ganized as a regiment of two or three battalions. The 
field and staff officers should be assigned according to 
Army regulations. Units of fourteen or more companies 
should be brigaded. In general, such large units will 
exist only where a single military organization is formed 
to cover a wide territory, such as that of an entire state. 
In this case, separate towns will maintain their own com- 
panies or battalions, which will seldom operate together. 
Under such circumstances, in addition to the regimental 
or brigade staff, each separate battalion should have its 
own staff, organized as in Paragraph 17. 



ORGANIZATION 13 

19. System of Mobilization. — The most important 
single feature of any local defense unit, particularly in 
the city, is its system of mobilization. Trouble often 
starts very suddenly, and sometimes without warning, 
and the success of the organization in coping with it 
depends, above all else, on its ability to get its men to- 
gether quickly at the scene of disorder. " Getting there 
first" is nine-tenths of the battle, and an organization 
which has once demonstrated its ability to take the 
field, fully equipped and ready for service, at very short 
notice has gone a long way toward maintaining order 
thereafter in its community. 

20. Telephone and Automobile. — The telephone and 
the automobile supply the normal machinery for mobil- 
izing the local defense unit. Whatever the size of the 
whole unit, the company is the basis for mobilization; 
in the larger units the order to mobilize, with instructions 
as to the situation and the immediate steps to be taken, 
will proceed from the commanding officer to the com- 
pany commanders. It is their duty to have their system 
of notification and transportation always accurate and 
effective. These systems will, of course, vary according 
to local conditions, but certain general principles will 
apply in nearly every case. 

21. Notification. — The problem of mobilization is 
twofold: first, the men must be notified; second, they 
must be transported to the chosen mobilization point. 
The notification by telephone is best handled through 
the regular company organization: the captain notifies 
the lieutenants and the first sergeant; each one of them 



14 



MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 



notifies four of the sergeants, who in turn pass on the 
order to the squad leaders and privates. The list should 
be so arranged that no man has to telephone to more 
than four other men, or less than two. Full provision 
must be made for possible failure to locate immediately 
any man responsible for the transmission of an order; 
such failure must in no case be permitted to break the 
chain of communication, and at least two substitutes 
for each man thus responsible should be clearly des- 
ignated. 

22. Printed Roster. — It is advisable to have the full 
roster of the company printed, and two copies (one for 
the office and one for the home) issued to each man. 
Corrections may be made by weekly or bimonthly bul- 
letins, or, though less satisfactorily, by announcements 
at drill. The printed roster should give full details of 
the systems of notification and transportation. Each 
officer and enlisted man should have a notification num- 
ber, and also a car number (see Paragraph 26). The 
roster will then be printed in the following form: 



Car 
No. 

24 
31 
16 



No. 


Name 


Rank 


Address 
(Home and Office) 


Telephone 

(Home and 

Office) 


1 


Smith, J. A. . . . 


. . . Captain 


97 Hillside Ave. 
162 Main St. 


West 3894 
Main 4526 


2 


Brown, R. E. . . 


... .1st Lt. 


437 Green St. 
88 Fourth St. 


South 8423 
Center 695 


3 


Jones, L. F. . . . 


. . . 2nd Lt. 


182 25th St. 
932 First National 
Bank Building 


West 4737 
Main 827 



23. Form for Notification System. — On page 16 ap- 
pears the outline of a notification system, based on 



ORGANIZATION 15 

a printed roster such as the foregoing, for a company 
of 3 officers and 155 enlisted men (as described in 
Paragraph 16). With the cooperation of the telephone 
company, which should be arranged for in advance, it 
should be possible to notify every man in such a com- 
pany who is not actually out of reach of a telephone 
within 40 minutes of the time when the company com- 
mander receives the initial call. 

24. Alternative Notification Systems. — The telephone 
will provide adequately for notification under most cir- 
cumstances, but an alternative plan should be arranged 
in case anything should happen to interfere with or 
destroy the telephone service. A specified fire signal, or 
the bugle call " Assembly " played on municipal or church 
chimes, may be used as a summons to immediate mobil- 
ization. Furthermore, men with automobiles should be 
prepared to use the company transportation system (see 
Paragraphs 25 and 26) for purposes of notification, in 
case no more expeditious method is available. 



16 



MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 



1 (Capt.) 







f 17 (S. 


L.).. 


....53, 


54, 55 




5 (Serg.) 


18 (S. 


L.).. 


....56, 


57, 58 




[ 19 (S. 


L.).. 


59, 


60, 61 




6 (Serg.) ■ 


20 (S. 


L.).. 


62, 


63, 64 




21 (S. 


L.).. 


65, 


66, 67 






22 (S. L.) . . 


....68, 


69, 70 


2 (1st Lt.) 
















' 23 (S. L. 


....71, 


72, 73 




7 (Serg.) 


24 (S. 


L.).. 


....74, 


75, 76 






25 (S. L.) . . 


....77, 


78, 79 






26 (S. 


L.).. 


....80, 


81, 82 




8 (Serg.) 


27 (S. 


L.).. 


83, 


84, 85 




28 (S. L.) . . 


....86, 


87, 88 




' 29 (S. 


L.).. 


....89, 


90, 91 




9 (Serg.) < 


30 (S. 


L.).. 


....92, 


93, 94 






. 31 (S. 


L.).. 


....95, 


96, 97 






' 32 (S. 


L.).. 


.... 98 


99, 100 




10 (Serg.) < 


33 (Clk.) . . . 


. ...101 


102, 103 






.34 




104 


105, 106 


3 (2nd Lt.) 














35 




.... 107 


108, 109 




11 (Serg.) < 


36 




....110 


111, 112 






37 




....113 


114, 115 






38 




....116 


117, 118 




12 (Serg.) 


39 




....119 


120, 121 




40 




.... 122 


123, 124 




41 




125 


126, 127 




' 13 (Serg.) < 


42 




....128 


129, 130 






43 




131 


132, 133 






r 44 




134 


135, 136 




14 (Serg.) 
(Mess) 


45 




....137 


138, 139 




46 




140 


141, 142 


4 (1st Sg.) 




47 




143 


144, 145 




15 (Serg.) 


48 




146 


147, 148 




(Supply) 


49 




.... 149 


150, 151 




16 (Serg.) 
(Hosp.) 


50 (H. 0.) . 


152 


153, 154 




51 




155 (Mech.), 156 (Mech.) 




53 




157 (Mus.), 158 (Mus.) 



ORGANIZATION 17 

Outline of Notification System by Telephone for 

a Company of Three Officers and One Hundred and 

Fifty-five Enlisted Men 

The notification numbers should be so assigned that, 
as far as possible, home calls will be within a single tele- 
phone exchange (e. g., the house telephones of Nos. 5, 17, 
18, 19, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60 and 61 should all be 
listed under one exchange). 

25. Reaching Mobilization Point. — The system em- 
ployed for transporting the men of each company to the 
mobilization point must be fitted to local conditions. 
Either of two general methods may be adopted : (a) mo- 
bilization at one or more fixed points, determined upon as 
part of the permanent scheme of mobilization; (b) mo- 
bilization at or near the immediate scene of action. The 
first plan has the advantages of permanence and of 
bringing the company together before it approaches the 
area of disorder; it has the disadvantage of involving 
serious delay, and also of being so readily apparent that 
there is little chance of taking the trouble-makers by 
surprise. Rapidity of mobilization is so important that 
the second system, provided it can be worked out with 
reasonable security, is on the whole preferable. It is, 
however, frequently possible to combine the two methods 
by having groups of men who live near each other mo- 
bilize at some convenient point, such as a public garage, 
and proceed thence as a unit to the point of general 
mobilization designated by the company commander. 



18 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 

26. Use of Automobiles. — Automobiles or motor 
trucks should, whenever possible, be used for mobiliza- 
tion instead of public conveyances. By utilizing cars 
belonging to members of the company, and supplement- 
ing these by arrangement with owners of public garages, 
it should be possible to provide one car for every five 
or six men, or a truck for each group of fifteen or twenty. 
Each man will then be assigned to an automobile or 
truck, by number, and will furthermore be directed what 
to do in case the car to which he is assigned is for any 
reason not available. 

Example. Private Robinson, No. 43, receives 
from Sergeant Hill, No. 13, the order for the com- 
pany to mobilize at once at the City Water Works. 
He immediately telephones the order to privates 
White, Jackson and Reed, Nos. 131, 132 and 133. 
Reed is not at home, so Robinson gives the message 
to Mrs. Reed, asking her to locate and notify her 
husband as soon as possible. Robinson's car num- 
ber is 17, the automobile in question belonging to 
his squad leader, Corporal Johnson, and being kept 
at his garage around the corner.- Robinson, there- 
fore, hurries into his uniform, takes his arms, 
ammunition and such equipment as the mobiliza- 
tion order may have specified, and runs to Corporal 
Johnson's garage, where the five men assigned to car 
17, all of whom live near by, are assembling. If 
Robinson has been delayed, and Corporal Johnson's 
automobile has already left, he goes on to the public 
garage three blocks away, where he knows that a 



ORGANIZATION 19 

motor truck will be in waiting for such late comers 
as himself. 

27. Testing the Mobilization System. — It is impos- 
sible to lay too much emphasis on the importance of 
maintaining the mobilization system at the maximum 
of efficiency; it may, indeed, fairly be called a matter of 
life and death. Rapid mobilization may at any time 
mean that a potentially destructive mob, the suppression 
of which might cost many lives, can be dispersed without 
bloodshed during the period when it is still nothing more 
than a disorderly crowd. In all local defense units the 
mobilization system should be frequently tested, and 
in all units larger than a single company competitions 
among the companies should be occasionally held, with 
a common mobilization point, victory going to the com- 
pany which has the largest number of men, fully uni- 
formed, armed and equipped for service, at the designated 
point within a specified time after the call is first issued. 

28. Equipment Kept at Home. — Unless an armory is 
used as a permanent mobilization point — an arrange- 
ment open to the objections stated in Paragraph 25 — 
it is desirable that each man should keep his uniform, 
arms and equipment at home. The nature of the arms 
normally employed (see Paragraphs 43-49) makes this 
arrangement easy, and it greatly expedites mobilization, 
particularly at night, when sudden and urgent calls are 
most likely to come. In the daytime, throughout any 
period in which trouble is even remotely expected, it is 
well for every man to wear his uniform, and to take his 
arms and equipment with him to his office. In this way 



20 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 

mobilization can be effected at any hour of the day or 
night with the minimum of delay. 

29. Permanent Mobilization Point. — If a permanent 
mobilization point is used, it should be reasonably central 
in location, easy of access, and capable of being effect- 
ively defended. It should, if possible, provide shelter 
and safe protection for automobiles. A company mobi- 
lized at such a point should be transported to the vicinity 
of the scene of action in motor trucks, if the distance is 
not too great and enough trucks are available. The 
tactical features of such a movement will be considered 
under the head of Tactics (Paragraphs 135-137 and 
153-157). 

30. Squad Organization. — The success of the mobiliza- 
tion system depends largely on the accuracy of the com- 
pany roster. The personnel of any local defense unit is 
bound to change materially from month to month, and 
one of the hardest tasks of the officers will be to keep 
close track of all the men, and know just how many can 
be counted on at any given time. The squad organiza- 
tion should be made the fullest possible use of, and each 
squad leader should be made to feel responsible for the 
discipline, smartness, instruction and dependability of 
his squad. Competitive drills among the squads will do 
much to develop a spirit of the right kind of rivalry. 
The squad organization should be permanent, so that 
each squad leader will always be responsible for the 
same seven men, even if, for drill purposes, it is fre- 
quently necessary to break up some of the squads. In 
this way the squad leader can keep accurate track of his 






ORGANIZATION 21 

men, finding out by telephone if any of them are sick or 
out of town, and seeing that trivial excuses do not suffice 
to keep the less energetic ones away from drill. Unless 
the squad is thus made an administrative unit, the com- 
pany commander is likely to find himself quite unable to 
keep track of all his men. 

31. Regular Attendance at Drills. — Whatever the form 
of oath or agreement of enlistment, regular attendance 
at drills should be absolutely insisted on. For this reason, 
and in view of the quality of the personnel of most local 
defense units, it is better to have too few prescribed 
drills than too many. One or two drills a week will 
maintain the efficiency of the unit, particularly if sup- 
plemented by officers' and noncommissioned officers' 
schools; one drill fully attended is worth two with a 60 or 
70 per cent attendance. Attendance records should be 
kept with absolute accuracy. In a large company the 
first sergeant should not attempt to call the roll, but 
should call for reports from the squad leaders. These 
reports should always be given orally, according to the 
prescribed form, the name of every absentee being re- 
ported. The squad leader should not be permitted to 
use the formula "All present or accounted for." This 
system of oral reports gives the squad leaders a further 
incentive to maintaining the full and regular attendance 
of the men in their squads. Men absent from prescribed 
drills should be required to render to their squad leaders 
(or to the first sergeant in the case of absentee noncom- 
missioned officers) written explanations of the cause of 
absence. Failure to do so should be regarded as a viola- 



22 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 

tion of the oath or agreement of enlistment. Reasonable 
excuses should, of course, be accepted; the nature of the 
local defense unit is such that due allowance must be 
made for pressing business or other engagements. Men 
who are frequently absent, however, and all men who 
fail to make the required reports concerning absences, 
should unhesitatingly be dropped from the rolls for the 
good of the service, for otherwise the unit will find its 
strength seriously impaired in an emergency. 

32. Company Paperwork. — While the administrative 
detail and paperwork of a local defense unit may properly 
be far less than would be necessary for an Army unit of 
the same size, the danger is that there will be too little 
of it rather than too much. Each company should main- 
tain a correspondence book and document file, together 
with card lists of all the men enrolled (see Paragraph 13) 
and of all the equipment on hand or issued. It should, 
furthermore, have printed forms for the morning report 
and for orders issued by the company commander. 
The printed roster should be constantly corrected through 
bulletins (see Paragraph 22), which should be issued on a 
printed form. Carbon copies of all orders, memoranda 
and bulletins should be kept on file. If no room in an 
armory or other public building is available for the pur- 
pose, the business office of the company commander, or 
some other convenient and accessible place, should be 
designated as the company office. 

33. Headquarters Paperwork. — At the headquarters of 
the local defense battalion or regiment should be kept 
an accurate roster (preferably in card form) of all officers 



ORGANIZATION 23 

and enlisted men in the unit, a full record of all arms, 
uniforms, supplies and equipment ordered, on hand or 
issued, a file of all orders received or issued by the com- 
manding officer, printed blanks for consolidated morning 
reports, orders, requisitions, etc., a correspondence book 
and a document file. A detailed report should be re- 
quired from each company after each drill, showing 
(a) the names of absentees without satisfactory written 
explanation; (b) the names of absentees with satisfactory 
written explanation; (c) the names of applicants for en- 
rollment (in case the companies recruit individually); 
(d) requests for discharges for men who, for any reason, are 
to be dropped from the rolls; (e) any arms, uniforms, sup- 
plies or equipment forming part of the battalion or regi- 
mental issue required by the company. Further headquar- 
ters equipment is described in Paragraphs 66 and 67. 

34. Noncommissioned Officers' Schools. — In addition 
to the prescribed drills, schools should be maintained for 
the noncommissioned officers. This is a matter of very 
great importance, for in most local defense units the 
majority of the noncommissioned officers are either in- 
experienced or rusty. No noncommissioned officer can 
hope to retain the respect of his men, or to lead them 
effectively on active service, unless he knows his business, 
and no company officers, however efficient they may be, 
can build up a good company with ill-trained squad 
leaders and sergeants. The course of study in the non- 
commissioned officers' school should be carefully mapped 
out, and the w T ork should be thoroughly supervised by 
the field, staff and company officers. Sergeants and 



24 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 

squad leaders should be made to understand that their 
retention of their grades depends primarily on their 
willingness to work. 

35. Officers' Meetings. — The officers of a local de- 
fense unit should hold frequent meetings, preferably on 
a fixed day each week. A part of each meeting should 
be devoted to officers' school, conducted by the com- 
manding officer, with frequent talks by officers of the 
regular Army, foreign officers, civilians particularly 
familiar with the local conditions under which the unit 
may be called upon to operate, and others whose expe- 
rience will be of value to the organization. The company 
officers should use these meetings as opportunities to 
exchange ideas regarding the handling of their companies, 
and particular attention should be paid to such admin- 
istrative and tactical matters as differ from the prescribed 
Army methods. While the commanding officer of a local 
defense battalion or regiment should require uniformity 
of method in all essentials, he should permit sufficient 
freedom of action to his subordinates so that really useful 
ideas can be worked out, especially in fields to which 
the official Army manuals do not fully apply. 

36. Keeping the Drill Interesting. — Every effort should 
be made to keep the work always interesting to officers 
and enlisted men alike. Many of them have no idea of 
ever becoming professional soldiers, and their enthusiasm 
will soon flag over an unvaried course of Squads Right 
and Squads Left. The company commander should aim 
to teach his men something new at each dpll. Among 
the subjects which may be thus taken up, in addition to 



ORGANIZATION 25 

the usual routine of close order drill, may be suggested 
the following: arm signals; two-arm semaphore code; 
mechanism of the rifle, revolver and pistol; aiming and 
position drill; bayonet manual (new style); interior guard 
duty and guard mount; first aid; military sanitation and 
hygiene; map reading and map making; outpost duty; 
military reports; inspections; applied problems in minor 
tactics; military customs, honors and courtesies; special 
formations and tactics for riot service. The last-named 
subject is capable of almost limitless development, for 
every street corner, alley, freight yard, warehouse or 
factory provides new problems for solution, and when 
the drill is held actually on the ground — which should 
be done whenever possible — the men are encouraged to 
use their own wits in solving the problems set before them. 
37. Promotion. — The system of assignment to grades 
and of promotion will be determined largely by the civil 
authority which controls the local defense unit. In gen- 
eral, however, the election of officers and noncommis- 
sioned officers should be avoided, unless it is coupled 
with a rigid system of examinations. No matter what 
the status of the local defense unit, no promotion should 
be made until the candidate has passed a satisfactory 
examination before a properly constituted examining 
board. Company commanders should hold examinations, 
preferably competitive, before making recommendations 
for the issuing of warrants to noncommissioned officers. 
All examinations should include, whenever practicable, 
a demonstration of the candidate's ability to command 
a unit of the size appropriate to the grade or rank to 



26 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 

which he aspires. In case officers or noncommissioned 
officers have been appointed without examination, it is 
none the less desirable to adopt the examination system 
for subsequent appointments and promotions, and to 
require the officers previously appointed to take the 
examinations appropriate to their respective grades. 
Formal warrants should be issued by the commanding 
officer of the unit. 

38. Quarters for Drill. — In most of the larger cities an 
armory formerly used by the National Guard is available 
for the use of the local defense unit. This not only pro- 
vides a place where rifles and ammunition (except as 
outlined in Paragraph 45) may be kept, and where drills 
may be held in cold or stormy weather, but provides also 
a definite location for the headquarters of the unit, and, 
in many cases, for the company offices. If an armory is 
not available, any large hall may be used for drill. It is, 
of course, desirable that the hall should be large enough 
to permit of company drill, but this is not absolutely 
essential, for the proper place to drill is out of doors. 
Even when the weather is cold or rainy, it is unwise to 
keep the men too much indoors, provided they are 
properly equipped. They cannot expect to regulate 
their periods of active service according to the weather, 
and the sooner they get used to working together under 
unfavorable conditions, the more effective the unit will 
be. Cramped drill quarters are an inconvenience, but 
nothing worse; if a hall can be secured which is large 
enough to form a company in, and to drill recruits, the 
company commander can, by a little ingenuity, adapt 



ORGANIZATION 27 

his drill to the conditions, and spend the greater part 
of his time in the open air, where he belongs. 

39. Rifle and Pistol Ranges. — When an armory is 
available, the problem of galleries for pistol and rifle 
practice is solved, though it may not always be possible 
to secure rifles and ammunition suitable for gallery work. 
Without an armory this difficulty is very much greater. 
It is absolutely essential that every man equipped with 
a rifle, shotgun, pistol or revolver should have a consider- 
able amount of practice in the use of it. In many cities 
arrangements can be made with rifle clubs whereby their 
galleries may be rented. With the distribution of fire- 
arms provided for in Paragraphs 43-47, it is reasonable to 
suppose that all the men assigned to the rifle and shotgun 
squads will be familiar with the use of their weapons, 
and that they can find suitable places for occasional prac- 
tice. The main need is for a pistol gallery, since every 
officer and enlisted man in the local defense unit should 
own and carry on active service a pistol or revolver. 
Such a gallery can often be extemporized in a well-lighted 
cellar, where a range of 50 or 75 feet can be secured. If 
the unit is equipped with Army rifles and service am- 
munition issued by the state or federal government, no 
practice with this equipment should under any circum- 
stances be permitted except on a regular range authorized 
by the government for rifle shooting. 

40. Headquarters Office. — When an armory is not 
available, or in case the armory is not equipped with 
offices, an office should be secured which can be devoted 
exclusively to the purposes of the local defense unit. 



28 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 

A permanent office for headquarters, no matter how 
small it may be, should be regarded as absolutely essen- 
tial. The equipment of this office is considered in Par- 
agraphs 66-67. 

41. Organization Adapted to Conditions. — There are 
many details concerning the organization of a local de- 
fense unit which defy generalization, and must be wholly 
determined by local conditions. It must not be assumed, 
however, that the fact that such a unit has been organized 
on a more or less faulty basis is necessarily a bar to suc- 
cess. The authorities and the officers in charge should 
not hesitate at any time to revise their whole scheme of 
organization if by so doing they can render the unit 
more efficient. The men have presumably joined in 
order to be of service to their community, and will, as a 
rule, welcome any change which strengthens the organiza- 
tion, even if in the process they find themselves reduced 
from lieutenancies to the ranks, or are directed to revise 
their whole system of drill and tactics. The aim should 
always be, not to adhere as closely as possible to the 
Infantry Drill Regulations, but so to adapt these regula- 
tions, and all others relating to the United States Army, 
to existing local conditions as to bring the unit to the 
highest possible degree of efficiency for its particular 
mission. The fact that the present system of training 
of the Army itself is widely at variance in many respects 
with the rules laid down in the formal manuals is quite 
enough to warrant similar departures by units formed 
for the purpose of local defense. 



Ill 

EQUIPMENT 

42. General Heads. — The subject of equipment for 
the local defense unit may be considered under the 
following heads: Arms; Uniforms; Personal; Company; 
Headquarters. 

43. Arms and Ammunition. — The most important, 
and frequently the most difficult, feature of equipping 
any local defense unit is that of proper arms. It is still 
commonly assumed that the appropriate weapon for 
all infantry — to which branch most local defense units 
belong — is the rifle, although the present war is rapidly 
demonstrating that this is by no means always true. 
The equipment of any body of troops ought to be deter- 
mined by its mission. It has already been pointed out 
that the mission of the local defense unit, particularly 
in cities, is primarily preventive, its object being to keep 
trouble from starting, or at least from reaching serious 
proportions (see Paragraphs 4 and 5, also, under Tactics, 
Paragraphs 70-76). Thus it will be called upon to deal 
far more frequently with crowds than with mobs, and 
most of the situations it will have to face will be such that 
the rifle will be an actual handicap rather than a really 
effective weapon. The question of arms for such units 
is further greatly affected in many cases by the fact that 

29 



30 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 

rifles in sufficient quantities to equip every enlisted man 
cannot, for the present at least, be secured from the fed- 
eral or state authorities. Even the new National Guard 
units are to be equipped only with such rifles "as may be 
available after the needs of all troops in Federal service 
have first been met/' This is a serious handicap to drill, 
but it need not interfere with the effectiveness of the 
unit on active service,, as the proper equipment of arms 
for most forms of local defense activity can be secured 
without government aid.* 

44. United States Army Rifles. — It is, of course, de- 
sirable to have a rifle for every enlisted man in the local 
defense unit. This is true particularly because of the 
importance of the rifle in close order drill, and in route and 
street marching; the military character of the organiza- 
tion is much easier to maintain if the men can have rifles 
in their hands for a part of every drill period. Further- 
more, in a very serious emergency the rifle and bayonet 
may provide the only means for controlling the situation. 
Every effort should, therefore, be made to secure, through 
the civil authorities, a full issue of rifles and bayonets; 
but it should be clearly understood that these rifles are 
to be kept for drill and in reserve for the gravest emer- 
gencies, and do not, except as provided in Paragraph 45, 
constitute the proper arms for local defense service under 
ordinary conditions. It is important that an issue of 
rifles, if made, should include bayonets and ammunition; 
the unit must never be exposed to the taunt that it car- 
ries guns which have neither point nor powder. However, 
for drill purposes only, discarded types of rifle, such as 



EQUIPMENT 31 

the 1873 Springfield, may profitably be used, even if 
neither ammunition nor bayonets are available. Such 
rifles should never be carried on active service. 

45. Rifles for Active Service. — Under ordinary service 
conditions in the city, wherein the functions of the 
rifleman are limited to those of sharpshooter, sentry 
and reserve (see Paragraphs 92, 98), the normal weapon 
of the local defense unit is not the rifle, but the riot stick. 
The danger attendant on the discharge of a high-powered 
rifle within city limits is so great as to be almost pro- 
hibitive, and it is immensely increased by the fact that 
relatively few of the enlisted men in the average local 
defense unit are qualified by training and experience to 
handle a high-powered rifle at all. A certain number of 
rifles are, however, indispensable, because a situation 
may at any time arise which can be dealt with in no other 
way. For service within city or town limits, where dis- 
orderly crowds will be the usual objects of attack, the 
local defense unit should have always available high- 
powered rifles, with ammunition, in the proportion of 
approximately ten to every company. If Army rifles 
(Models 1896, 1898 or 1903) have been issued to the unit, 
the proper number of these can, of course, be taken out 
on active service; if no issue has been made, the local de- 
fense unit is pretty sure to have among its men enough 
owners of high-powered sporting rifles to meet the re- 
quirements. Uniformity of make and caliber, while 
desirable, is by no means necessary. For service in the 
country, where isolated outlaws and bands of armed 
trouble-makers are far more likely to be encountered than 



32 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 

in the city, the proportion of rifles should be consider- 
ably greater. In every case, the number of rifles 
which should form part of the service equipment 
(as distinct from the drill equipment) of a local defense 
unit should be determined (a) by tactical considera- 
tions (see Paragraphs 98-100), and (b) by the number 
of men in the unit fully competent to handle such 
weapons. 

46. Shotguns. — For local defense, particularly in the 
city, the shotgun is normally far more effective than the 
rifle, its moral force being nearly as great, and the dan- 
gers attending its discharge being very much less. Gen- 
eral Pershing's order for 10,000 shotguns, and the adoption 
by the Army of a shotgun with bayonet for sentries, show 
that the possibilities of this weapon are coming to be more 
and more fully recognized. Even if plenty of rifles are 
available, every local defense unit, whatever its field of 
action, should have shotguns always available in the 
proportion of approximately 20 to every company. Uni- 
formity of gauge, though not absolutely necessary, is 
desirable, because of the inconvenience of carrying about 
a large supply of shells of various sizes. The 12-gauge 
shell loaded with No. 1 shot is particularly effective, and 
is not excessively dangerous. Buckshot, however, may 
also be used. While the pump-gun type is on the whole 
the most serviceable, automatic, double-barreled or even 
single- shotguns may be all used. Shotguns with sawed-off 
barrels — about 23 inches long — are better than those with 
long ones. As in the case of rifles, the number of shot- 
guns in the service equipment should be absolutely lim- 



EQUIPMENT 33 

ited by the number of men fully qualified by experience 
to handle them. 

47. Revolvers and Pistols. — Every member of a local 
defense unit should have a serviceable revolver or auto- 
matic pistol, of caliber 32 or larger, and should carry it 
at all times when on active service. It is his chief safe- 
guard on any form of detached duty, and its use under 
any circumstances is confined mainly to self-defense. It 
should, therefore, be regarded as an absolutely indis- 
pensable part of the service equipment of every officer 
and enlisted man. As revolvers or pistols can seldom 
be issued to a local defense unit in large quantities by 
the civil authorities, every man should be directed to 
purchase one for himself. The purchasing should, how- 
ever, be done through the ordnance officer of the unit. 
Every man should, furthermore, have sufficient ammu- 
nition to permit of a reasonable amount of pistol practice. 

48. Riot Sticks. — Under ordinary service conditions 
in the city, or anywhere where a disorderly assembly 
may be encountered, the riot stick is by all odds the most 
valuable offensive weapon for the local defense unit. 
Properly used by disciplined bodies of men, it will suffice 
to overawe any crowd not extensively equipped with 
firearms, and will disperse an unlawful gathering or break 
up a meeting without bloodshed when a single shot or 
bayonet thrust might entail the most disastrous con- 
sequences. There is no element of "bluff" about the 
riot stick, for any trouble-maker knows that it will be 
used freely and without hesitation, whereas, unless the 
situation is acutely serious, no commanding officer wants 



34 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 

to give his men the order to fire, and the crowd is per- 
fectly well aware of his attitude. A man is in an awkward 
position when he is equipped only with a weapon which 
he hesitates, and quite properly, to put to its correct use. 

49. Shape of Riot Sticks. — Riot sticks must be ab- 
solutely uniform in appearance; the local defense unit 
must never permit its men to look as though they had 
seized any kind of a club that came to hand. The or- 
dinary short policeman's "billy" is excellent for knocking 
a man out, but very poorly adapted to any other pur- 
pose. The same is true, to an even greater extent, of any 
form of weighted club. The best weapon is a straight, 
rounded oak stick, with a uniform diameter of one inch, 
and 30 inches long. It should have a small hole bored 
through it, 10 inches from one end, and through this 
should be tied a tough three-foot thong, forming a loop 
approximately 16 inches in length. Every officer and 
enlisted man in the unit should be equipped with one 
of these riot sticks. Concerning their use, see Par- 
agraphs 193-194. 

50. Machine and Field Guns. — The question of fur- 
ther arms, such as machine and field guns, must be deter- 
mined by local conditions, and by the availability of men 
competent to handle them. Such weapons are rarely 
procurable by local defense units, but are of very great 
value in cases of organized and armed resistance to the 
law. The machine gun is, of course, a weapon to be held 
in reserve until there is every reason to believe that no 
less destructive force will avail. It should never be 
brought out as a mere menace, and only an extraordinary 



EQUIPMENT 35 

situation would warrant its use. Field artillery is of 
value for local defense chiefly in attacking a strongly 
entrenched or barricaded position. In the city its 
employment is almost out of the question; a situation 
calling for the use of field guns would likewise fully war- 
rant the sending of regular Army troops to assume charge. 
In open country, however, there have been cases where 
outlaws have fortified themselves in an isolated house, 
or in some similar position, so strong as to defy rifle fire. 
Under such circumstances a few shells from a field gun 
may save a good many lives. Any local defense unit 
which can keep a machine gun, a field gun, or both, in 
reserve is thereby prepared to deal with practically any 
situation which might conceivably arise. The chances 
of really needing either weapon, however, are relatively 
slight, and an incalculable amount of harm might easily 
be done by employing either of them when they were 
unnecessary. It need hardly be said that they should be 
handled only by thoroughly trained and experienced 
gunners. 

51. Purchase of Arms. — It often happens that a local 
defense unit has at its disposal a fund for the purchase of 
equipment, part of which is to be devoted to buying 
arms. Before any purchases are made, a census should 
be taken of all rifles, shotguns, pistols and revolvers 
owned by members of the unit, this census being accom- 
panied by an inspection. If rifles and ammunition are 
issued by the authorities, the census need not include 
rifles, and no account need be taken of them in planning 
purchases. Otherwise, enough high-powered magazine 



36 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 

sporting rifles, with at least 100 rounds of ammunition 
for each rifle, should be bought to bring the total up to 
10 per company. Riot sticks should next be provided. 
These can be turned out, with the thongs, for 20 or 25 
cents apiece, and it is generally advisable to have the 
men pay for them themselves, as in that way they are 
less likely to lose them. Third, the revolvers and pistols 
should be checked up, and men lacking such weapons, or 
with manifestly inadequate ones, should be directed to 
purchase them. Part of the fund may properly be used 
to buy a reserve supply of revolvers, to equip men who 
cannot afford to buy them, and also for the purchase of 
ammunition for pistol practice. Finally, enough shot- 
guns, of uniform bore and type (12-gauge pump-guns, if 
possible), with at least 50 shells to each gun, should be 
purchased to bring the total up to 20 per company. Not 
until this equipment of arms is complete should any 
money be spent on guns ("dummy" or otherwise) purely 
for drill purposes. 

52. Uniforms. — It is essential that every local defense 
unit should be fully equipped with uniforms, and equally 
essential that there should be no violation of Section 125 
of the National Defense Act of June 3, 1916. This sec- 
tion prescribes what organizations may, and what may 
not, wear the distinctive uniform adopted by the United 
States Army, and makes no special provision for local 
units other than those regularly organized as a part of 
the authorized military forces of the state. A local de- 
fense unit organized under state laws, whether as part 
of the authorized National Guard as or state police 



EQUIPMENT 37 

or constabulary (Section 61 of the National Defense 
Act), will adopt a uniform in accordance with regulations 
issued by the adjutant general of the state. Units under 
county or municipal authority should likewise apply 
to the state adjutant general for information regarding 
uniforms and insignia. A circular published by the Ad- 
jutant General's Office, issued July 7, 1916, contains 
excellent suggestions as to insignia. for units not entitled 
to wear those of the Army. 

53. Essentials of Uniform. — The requisites for the 
uniform of any local defense unit are that it should be 
(a) distinctive; (b) complete; (c) provided with insignia 
for the hat, overcoat, blouse and shirt clearly and imme- 
diately recognizable; (d) serviceable. The last is the most 
important of all. Every man should be fully equipped with 
prescribed articles of clothing for wear in every sort of 
weather he is at all likely to encounter. Heavy, lined 
overcoats and warm gloves for cold weather, and rain- 
proof coats or slickers for service in the wet when the 
heavy overcoat would be burdensome, are particularly 
important. The uniform should include an outside belt 
(preferably web) for carrying the pistol holster. The 
essential articles are: hat; blouse; shirt (flannel); breeches 
(preferably short, to be worn with leggins or puttees); 
leggins or spiral puttees (with leather puttees for the 
officers); shoes; belt (inside); pistol belt; holster; gloves; 
overcoat (the short lined coat has many advantages over 
the long one) ; raincoat or slicker. 

54. Shoes. — Company officers should pay special 
attention to the socks and shoes worn by their men, 



38 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 

particularly if, as is generally the case in local defense 
units, shoes are not issued as part of the uniform equip- 
ment. The average business or professional man has 
very little idea of the requirements of active service, and 
is likely to report for duty with shoes that will incapac- 
itate him after a few hours. Frozen, swollen, blistered or 
sore feet can generally be avoided if the officers will give 
the matter of shoes timely and proper attention. 

55. Method of Purchasing Uniforms. — Whether the 
uniforms are paid for by the state, county or city, out 
of a special fund devoted to the equipment of the unit, 
or by the men themselves, the matter should always be 
handled through the supply officer of the unit. Each 
man, at the time he enlists or enrolls, should report his 
measurements (see Paragraph 14), and the order for his 
uniform should be put through only with the indorse- 
ment of his company commander. Unless the uniforms 
are paid for and owned by the men individually, the 
supply officer should keep an accurate record of all uni- 
form equipment ordered, on hand, or issued. A card for 
each man to whom equipment is issued should be kept 
at headquarters, with the name of every article of the 
equipment printed on it, and each man should sign his 
card opposite the name of each article as he receives it. 
Furthermore, each company commander should be 
responsible to the supply officer of the battalion or reg- 
iment for every article of equipment issued to the men of 
his company. He, in turn, should make each squad 
leader responsible for the equipment issued to his squad. 
If this matter of responsibility is not very carefully 



EQUIPMENT 39 

mapped out, the changing nature of the personnel of most 
local defense units will inevitably resuit in the disappear- 
ance of valuable supplies. 

56. Personal Equipment. — It will seldom be possible 
to issue much in the way of personal equipment to the 
men of a local defense unit, so that each man will find 
it necessary to provide for himself such personal equip- 
ment as he will need. Practically everything absolutely 
required can, however, be found in any household. It is 
the duty of the company officers to indicate to their men 
just what articles they should have always in readiness 
for a sudden call, and then, through inspections at drill, 
to see that their instructions have been followed. When 
practice mobilizations are held (see Paragraph 27), it is 
advisable sometimes to order the men to report for duty 
with full field equipment, and then to hold an inspection 
as soon as the mobilization has been completed. Since 
extended tours of field duty beyond the reach of supplies 
are relatively unlikely, the personal equipment need not 
be large. 

57. Minimum Field Equipment. — Each man's service 
equipment will include, first of all, his uniform (see Par- 
agraph 53) and arms (see Paragraphs 45-49). In addi- 
tion, he should have a good all-wool blanket, with straps 
to secure it as a roll. He will need a small tin, or, better, 
aluminum, plate and cup, a knife, fork and spoon, a cake 
of soap, a towel, a dish-cloth, a toothbrush, a hairbrush, 
an extra pair of socks, an extra undershirt and pair of 
drawers, a pair of extra shoe laces, a pencil and a small 
notebook or pad of paper. A wrist watch, a pocket 



40 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 

knife, some toilet paper and a box of matches are val- 
uable additions. A haversack, or small canvas bag which 
can be slung on the back or over the shoulder, is very- 
useful, but not absolutely essential, as the articles com- 
posing the field kit can ordinarily be packed and carried 
in the blanket roll. A canteen and meat can are desirable, 
and are essential for prolonged service outside of the 
city. Finally, each man's equipment should include a 
small first-aid packet. 

58. Conditions Regulating Equipment. — The extent 
of the personal equipment will be regulated by local 
conditions, and the kind of service which may reasonably 
be expected. A unit organized to operate in or very close 
to a city needs to prescribe only the minimum of equip- 
ment for its men. On the other hand, a unit which may 
be called far from home and away from towns for consider- 
able periods will need practically the full personal equip- 
ment prescribed as the regular Army field kit. It is 
advisable for the officers, when informing the men as to 
the indispensable articles listed in Paragraph 57, at the 
same time to give them a list of further articles which 
would be required for extended field service, and to 
direct each man to have such articles in readiness in case 
of a sudden call. It must be impressed on all the men 
that, in the event of a call, no time must be wasted in 
hunting up and getting together the personal equipment; 
it should be kept at home in such a way that it can be 
made ready for use without material delay. 

59. Company Equipment. — Owing to the nature of 
local defense service, the company, whether it forms a 



EQUIPMENT 41 

unit by itself or is part of a battalion or regiment, must 
be capable of operating independently, and thus must be 
to a considerable extent self-supporting. Its field service 
equipment will, therefore, include many things which 
would normally concern only the larger units. There is, 
however, no necessity that every article of the company's 
field equipment should actually be at all times in the 
possession of the company officers; it is frequently quite 
sufficient that the officers should know exactly where 
they can get hold of the articles of equipment they may 
need, at very short notice. The character of the local 
defense unit makes it undesirable to accumulate any 
great quantity of supplies, and the heavy expense in- 
volved in so doing is a further argument against having 
the company attempt to buy all the equipment it may 
need. 

60. Tents, Cots and Blankets. — Among the articles 
which need not, or should not, be bought, but which 
the officers must be able to secure promptly and without 
fail, may be mentioned tents, cots, motor trucks, motor 
cycles, portable telephone and telegraph sets, a portable 
typewriter, and cooking apparatus, including a portable 
stove. Tents are rarely issued to local defense units, and 
they are so expensive that it is seldom worth while to 
buy them. At the same time, the company commander 
should find out where tents can be secured in an emer- 
gency, and should make the necessary arrangements for 
getting possession of them. The local defense unit is, 
however, far more likely to be quartered in buildings 
when on active service than under canvas, and the com- 



42 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 

pany commander should make arrangements whereby, 
at need, he can secure cots for his entire company. In 
cold weather he should likewise know where he can get 
hold of a supply of extra blankets. In the larger local 
defense units, such matters will presumably be dealt with 
by the supply officer, or, in the case of regiments, by the 
supply company, but the company commander must 
never forget that he, and he alone, is responsible for the 
welfare of the men under his command. It never keeps 
anybody warm, or gives him a good night's sleep, to learn 
that " somebody else" ought to have attended to his 
comfort; the company commander who relies too much 
on " somebody else" is sooner or later going to regret it. 
If he is absolutely certain of his own ability to secure 
tents, cots and extra blankets when he needs them, he 
will never have to feel that he has been neglectful of his 
duty in this respect. 

61. Transportation Equipment. — The importance to 
the local defense unit of an effective transportation sys- 
tem has been already pointed out (see Paragraphs 25-27). 
The company is often likely to be called on to transport 
itself, the urgency being too great to permit of delay 
until transportation can be secured from some outside 
agency. This may, of course, be done by means of auto- 
mobiles owned by members of the company; but the 
automobile has the great disadvantage of splitting up 
the company into far too many small groups, and also 
of being ill adapted to carrying supplies. Furthermore, 
many automobiles are likely to be laid up during the 
winter. Motor trucks, particularly in the city, provide 




c3 



-e O 
e o 









EQUIPMENT 43 

the ideal means for transporting men and supplies from 
place to place. A powerful truck will easily accommodate 
a full platoon; it can carry the company 's entire equip- 
ment; it can be used, at need, as a wrecking car for re- 
moving obstacles from roads, streetcar or railroad tracks. 
Every company commander should, therefore, make 
arrangements whereby he can at any time secure the 
use of one or more big motor trucks, and should be sure 
that he has trustworthy men competent to drive them. 
He should also be always in a position to get hold of a 
couple of motor cycles, which, for scout or orderly service, 
have marked advantages over automobiles. In case his 
company is ordered out for service in the country, he 
should procure field telephone and telegraph sets, and 
be sure that he has in his company men capable of in- 
stalling and operating them. The company mechanics 
may profitably be trained for this service. Finally, 
whenever the company is on active service, the company 
clerk should have with him a portable typewriter, with 
plenty of stationery and carbon paper. 

62. Mess Equipment. — The problem of the company 
mess depends for its solution entirely on the immediate 
conditions of service. For work within city limits no 
very large cooking outfit is necessary; unless the tour of 
duty is a long one, it is generally simpler and better to 
have the food supplied and prepared, under the super- 
vision of the company mess sergeant, by restaurants or 
caterers. For service in the country, on the other hand, 
a complete cooking outfit is indispensable. Conditions 
of service vary so greatly that it is wiser not to lay in a 



44 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 

large and expensive supply of cooking utensils, which 
may prove entirely unfitted to the needs when the time 
comes. The company mess sergeant, under the direc- 
tion of the company commander, and with the guidance 
of the Manual for Army Cooks and Holbrookes "Mess 
Sergeant's Hand Book," should make a careful study of 
the local situation, finding out within what limits, and 
from what sources, he can count on adequate supplies of 
cooked food for short periods, and preparing a list of such 
utensils, with the places where they can be promptly 
secured, as may be needed if the company is forced to 
depend on its own cooking. If any articles of equip- 
ment are to be bought, the most useful single one is 
probably a 20-gallon insulated can, such as is often used 
for the transportation of milk. This will keep water 
cold, or coffee reasonably hot, for several hours, and can 
be transported along with the company by automobile 
or motor truck. For supplies needed when the company 
is quartered in a factory or public building, see Para- 
graph 89. 

63. Permanent Company Supplies. — Among its per- 
manent supplies the company should include at least 
two sets of flags for two-arm semaphore signaling; two 
bugles; the appropriate whistles for the captain, platoon 
leaders and guides; morning report blanks, order and duty 
roster blanks, a correspondence book and a document 
file. The hospital sergeant attached to the company 
should always have ready as complete a first-aid equip- 
ment as possible, together with such medical supplies as 
may reasonably be required during a week or so of con- 



EQUIPMENT 45 

tinuous field service. In local defense units larger than 
a single company, the surgeon should frequently inspect 
the company medical and surgical equipment. 

64. Company Fund. — Owing to the uncertainties of 
local defense service, it is important that the company 
commander should always have available a considerable 
company fund on which he can draw when there is no 
time to requisition supplies or subsistence from the civil 
authorities. Every local defense company should, there- 
fore, arrange a regular system of contributions from each 
man to the company fund, the fund to be held in trust 
by the company commander, and administered by the 
Company Council of Administration, consisting of the 
captain and the two lieutenants. As the expenses of a 
local defense company are normally small, a monthly 
contribution of 50 cents from each man will generally 
be enough to provide a safe surplus in case of need. The 
books of the company fund should be open to the in- 
spection of the men at all times. In the larger units, each 
company should contribute a fixed amount periodically 
to the battalion or regimental fund. 

65. Ambulance Company Supplies. — In the larger 
units, as has been pointed out (Paragraph 17), it is de- 
sirable to have a separate ambulance company formed. 
In state organizations, its officers and enlisted men will 
form part of the personnel of the Medical Corps of the 
state forces. The size of such a company depends on 
circumstances, but for an independent battalion an am- 
bulance company of three officers and 32 enlisted men is 
none too large. A company of the same size would be 



46 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 

sufficient for a regiment acting as a unit, but inadequate 
if the companies or battalions were used separately. 
The ambulance company needs, first of all, adequate 
means of transportation: one or two ambulances, if pos- 
sible, but at any rate suitable automobiles. Stretchers 
should be provided in the ratio of at least two to each 
company. A hospital tent is desirable, with a portable 
operating table. The equipment of surgical and medical 
supplies and instruments should be as complete as avail- 
able funds will permit. The plan of equipment should be 
so arranged that subdivisions of the whole unit, such as 
detached companies, can be fitted out with reasonable 
completeness at the shortest possible notice. 

66. Headquarters Maps. — If the local defense com- 
pany is not part of a larger organization, or, although 
nominally part of a battalion or regiment, is the single 
unit in its town or district, it will need certain further 
equipment which would normally belong to headquarters. 
The most important feature of this headquarters equip- 
ment is a map, or set of maps, of the entire region in 
which the unit may reasonably expect to be called upon 
to operate. It is of vital importance that the command- 
ing officer and his staff should know intimately every 
important geographical detail of the locality in which 
his men may be on active service. This is particularly 
true of cities. The city local defense unit should have 
at its headquarters the largest map of the city which 
can be obtained, with important points indicated in 
relief. Railroads, street car lines, water mains and 
electric power lines may be indicated by strings of dif- 






EQUIPMENT 47 

ferent colors fastened to the map by push pins. Im- 
portant buildings, such as armories, arsenals, large 
warehouses, municipal, county and state buildings, 
hospitals, important manufacturing plants, power sta- 
tions, gas tanks, railroad stations, etc., may be indicated 
by small blocks of w r ood, or colored corks, attached to 
the map. The map should be supplemented by a card 
index of all important points in the city, including the 
addresses of all dealers in firearms and explosives, public 
garages, warehouses of foodstuffs, fire department sta- 
tions, freight terminals, bridges, etc. For districts out- 
side of the city there should be large road maps, in which 
the important tactical features, such as woods, hills, 
rivers, lakes, marshes, defiles, bridges, etc., should be 
clearly marked. As a feature of the training in map 
work, an ordinary district or county road map may be 
converted into a military map by the men of the unit. 

67. General Headquarters Equipment. — The head- 
quarters of a local defense unit should, of course, be 
equipped with a telephone, and, if the district to be cov- 
ered is large, arrangements should be made whereby a 
special telegraph wire can be promptly connected. It 
should have a desk for the commanding officer and one 
for the adjutant, a typewriter and typewriter table, 
and filing cases for the card roster of the organization 
and for the supply officer's records. It should have all 
the necessary equipment for the paperwork of the or- 
ganization (see Paragraph 33). It should, in addition, 
contain as many military manuals and textbooks as can 
be secured, and thus should be a reference library for the 



48 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 

officers of the unit (see Paragraph 202, wherein a list of 
particularly useful books is given). Any books or pub- 
lications dealing with the geography, industry, popula- 
tion and history of the district which the unit is to pro- 
tect are also of great value. 

68. Equipment Determined by Mission. — Every phase 
of the equipment of a local defense unit will be greatly 
influenced by local conditions: the legal status of the 
organization and its relation to the state, county or 
municipal authorities; the amount of government prop- 
erty issued to it; the amount of money available for 
equipment; the size of the unit and of the community in 
which it exists; the area it is expected to cover; the char- 
acter of its personnel; the space available for its head- 
quarters, drill, and storage of supplies. But, even taking 
all these matters into consideration, the fundamental 
truth remains that the nature of the equipment is pri- 
marily determined by one thing: the mission of the or- 
ganization. Since its mission is unquestionably to pre- 
serve peace and order — the suppression of disorder is a 
secondary, though very necessary, phase — its equipment 
should be such as to enable it, by superior mobility and 
tactical efficiency, to deal with trouble-makers before 
they have an opportunity to become rioters. 



IV 
TACTICS 

69. Main Types of Activity. — The tactics of the local 
defense unit will be determined in every case by the na- 
ture of the problem it is ordered to solve. It may be 
called on to do anything from arresting a single criminal 
in uninhabited country to fighting a pitched battle with 
an armed mob in the city streets. Its methods, there- 
fore, will vary all the way from those of the policeman or 
constable to those of the Regular Army. It is impossible 
to lay down rules applicable throughout so broad a field; 
but it is possible to distinguish the main types of local 
defense service, and to formulate the tactical principles 
which should govern the actions of the unit under these 
different conditions. The drill should necessarily be 
based largely on these principles, for otherwise the unit, 
when called into active service, will find itself lamentably 
ill prepared for the work it has in hand. Four main types 
of local defense service, and consequently four distinct 
types of tactics, may be indicated: Crowd, Mob, Open 
Country, and Interior. 

70. Definition of Types. — Of these four types, crowd 
tactics are by all odds the most important for the local 
defense unit. Every mob starts as a crowd, and since the 
first object of the local defense unit is to prevent the 

49 



50 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 

crowd from developing into a mob, it is clear that a 
sound system of crowd tactics, effectively carried out, 
will fulfill the mission of the unit. Most trouble in towns 
and cities, in its initial stages, is a subject for crowd 
rather than mob tactics; strikes, industrial disorder, and 
even race riots, almost always start with crowds which, 
if caught in time, can best be handled without the applica- 
tion of tactics suitable and necessary for quelling a fully 
developed mob. It is in this respect that the military 
manuals are most unsatisfactory from the point of view 
of local defense. Regular troops are seldom called out 
to handle a mere crowd, and even the National Guard 
was rarely used until the mob stage had been reached. 
The sections on street riot duty in the military manuals, 
therefore, concern essentially mob tactics, and thereby 
furnish most uncertain guidance to the local defense 
commander confronted with a crowd which he wishes to 
prevent from becoming a mob, but on which he has no 
possible excuse for firing. Open country tactics, on a 
small scale, are nearly identical with the Army principles 
regarding scouting and patrolling; on a large scale they 
do not differ greatly from the prescribed methods of 
combat. As for interior tactics — the establishment of 
garrisons in buildings, hunting for criminals in houses, 
and other forms of indoor service, — the principles are few 
and simple, although their application is immensely 
varied, difficult and dangerous. 

71. Crowds and Mobs. — For the reasons that crowd 
tactics form the basis of the work of any local defense 
unit in the city or town, that disorderly crowds constitute 



TACTICS 51 

the phenomenon which such a unit will most frequently 
have to deal with, and that they are covered least ad- 
equately of all the four types in the military manuals — 
they may, indeed, fairly be said not to be covered at all, — 
they will here receive by far the most thorough considera- 
tion; the other types will merely be touched on. Crowd 
tactics may be defined as the principles governing the 
operations of an armed and disciplined body against a 
considerable group, or number of separate groups, which 
is disorderly and inclined to violence, but which has not 
as yet temporarily lost its collective sense of fear. A 
mob, on the other hand, is distinguished by the fact that, 
under the stimulus of intense excitement, its members 
have actually lost all sense of fear of the law, and can 
only be brought to their senses by an overpowering dem- 
onstration of force. 

72. Transition from Crowd to Mob. — A crowd, by its 
very definition, is cowardly. It still hesitates to commit 
itself to a course of unrestrained violence, even though 
some of its members may be guilty of violent acts when 
they think they have a good chance of escape. It may 
be noisy and threatening, and if left to its own devices 
is very likely to commit assaults and depredations which 
will excite it to the mob pitch; but just as long as the 
crowd is kept well in hand, its collective cowardice re- 
mains its most striking feature. The subtle change by 
which a crowd becomes a mob is a thing never forgotten 
by any one who has seen it. An apparent weakening of 
the forces holding the crowd in check, even though it be 
but momentary, may suffice to bring about the trans- 



52 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 

formation; a single piece of audacious violence success- 
fully carried through; two minutes' harangue by a fiery 
leader; the appearance on the street of a conspicuous and 
hated figure. It is the business of the local defense unit 
to see that this change does not take place, for the forma- 
tion of a mob means bloodshed and destruction before 
the fear of the law is restored to its proper power. 

73. Absence of Leadership. — The cowardice of the 
crowd is due to the lack of unity among its members, and 
the half-heartedness of many of them for any enterprise 
involving danger. A large part of any disorderly crowd 
is made up of mere spectators — good material for the 
mob spirit to work on, but in the beginning perfectly 
harmless. The proportion of determined trouble-makers 
in a city crowd, before it has fairly "got going," is prob- 
ably not one to ten. The leaders, the real sources of 
danger, are rarely in the front ranks, as is commonly sup- 
posed; they are far more likely to be circulating through 
and in the rear of the crowd, awaiting a good opportunity 
to throw a stone or fire a shot. Genuine leadership, at 
this stage, is conspicuously absent, and it is this fact 
that gives the disciplined unit, immediately responsive 
to the will of its commander, its greatest advantage. 

74. " Getting There First." — The change from con- 
fusion to unity under sudden leadership, from the vac- 
illating crowd to the determined mob, may come in a 
minute's time, and nothing is so likely to bring about the 
change as a single successful act of violence. It is, there- 
fore, a cardinal principle of crowd tactics to "get there 
first.' ' If a crowd can be prevented from forming, the 



TACTICS 53 

work of the local defense unit is done almost before it 
has started. Crowds may form rapidly, but they very 
seldom do so without giving previous warning. For in- 
stance, a meeting of strikers, malcontents, Industrial 
Workers of the World or other potential trouble-makers 
may ai any time prove the first step in the formation of a 
disorderly crowd. The fact that such a meeting is being 
held should, in any period of local unrest, be sufficient 
warning to the commander of the local defense unit that 
trouble may follow; the critical moment is the one at 
which the meeting breaks up, and the people attending 
it come out on the street. The sight of a few squads of 
armed men, though it may lead to jeers and abuse, will 
send the timid and half-hearted members scurrying to 
their homes, leaving the bolder spirits without support, 
and consequently impotent to start trouble. The in- 
door meeting is the chief originator of the outdoor dis- 
orderly crowd; and since the fact that such a meeting 
is to be held is generally made public in advance, the 
local defense unit commander has an opportunity to be 
beforehand with the crowd. The neglect of such an 
opportunity may cost dear. 

75. Anticipating Disorder. — In a similar way, many 
of the excuses for the formation of a crowd can be fore- 
told with considerable accuracy from a close knowledge 
of the local situation. In a strike or industrial disturb- 
ance, it is a safe guess that a crowd will form, if not pre- 
vented, within two or three hours of the time when the 
strike order is first issued, at or near the plant, factory or 
locality chiefly affected. The crowd will attempt to form 



54 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 

again periodically when the non-striking workmen are 
entering the plant in the morning, and leaving it at night. 
Crowds form naturally in the city at points where traffic 
is congested, particularly in the "rush hours." The 
half-hour at night immediately preceding and following 
the legal closing time for saloons is a period to be closely 
watched, for a single saloon can supply the nucleus for a 
disorderly crowd. By carefully studying the situation, 
the local defense unit commander can estimate with 
considerable accuracy the times and points at which 
crowds are most likely to form, and can forestall them 
by a judicious disposition of his men. 

76. Rapidity of Mobilization. — It is in this connection 
that rapidity of mobilization, discussed in Paragraphs 
19-29, is most important. The local defense unit can- 
not be held ready for instant service all the time; its 
members must be allowed to go about their business 
except when an emergency actually develops. In no 
other form of military service is it so true that the first 
blow is half the battle; if the men cannot be brought 
together at the point of danger quickly enough to pre- 
vent a crowd from forming, the hour or two of delay 
may mean the necessity of mob tactics, and loaded rifles. 
It should be impressed on every officer and enlisted man 
in the unit that the proper time to deal with a crowd is 
an hour or so before it has begun to form. 

77. The Service of Information. — The service of in- 
formation is of the utmost importance in this respect; 
a local defense unit commander who does not know 
exactly what is going on is sure, sooner or later, to com- 




TACTICS 55 

mit the unpardonable blunder of being caught by sur- 
prise. He should at all times keep himself thoroughly 
posted as to conditions in his district, particularly as 
regards unemployment, food and fuel shortage, labor un- 
rest, the presence in the community of undesirable out- 
siders, and activities below the surface inimical to the 
government. For this purpose he should be in close 
touch with the local police and sheriff's offices, and with 
the federal secret service. Every man in the unit should 
be instructed to keep his eyes and ears open at all times, 
and to report to headquarters anything coming to his 
attention which might indicate possible disorder. It is 
well for the unit to have affiliated with itself, and under 
the orders of its officers, a considerable number of men 
out of uniform who, particularly when trouble has ac- 
tually started, can secure information beyond the reach 
of uniformed men. The proper maintenance of the serv- 
ice of information is the duty primarily of the field and 
staff officers, and strict attention to it in times of apparent 
quiet may, when the emergency comes, result in the sav- 
ing of many lives and the prevention of a va'st amount 
of property damage. 

78. Military Districts. — It is advisable for the com- 
mander of any local defense unit to divide the territory 
with which he is chiefly concerned into military districts, 
assigning each one to a subdivision — a platoon, com- 
pany or battalion, depending on the size of the unit — of 
his command. The officers will then proceed, by actual 
investigation, to familiarize themselves closely with the 
districts thus assigned to them, and, in the event of widely 



56 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 

extended disorder, will naturally operate chiefly in the 
districts j^hich they have thus studied. They will, 
furthermpl, during periods of quiet maintain a general 
responsibility for the service of information in their dis- 
tricts, reporting to headquarters anything worthy of 
note. 

79. Keeping a Crowd from Forming. — With an ad- 
equate service of information, and an effective mobiliza- 
tion system, the local defense unit stands a good chance 
of forestalling the formation of any disorderly crowd. 
It is not enough, however, merely to arrive on the scene 
of action ahead of the potential trouble-makers; every 
officer and noncommissioned officer must have a clear 
understanding of what should be done to keep the crowd 
from forming. There must be no uncertainty or hesita- 
tion in this preliminary stage of the tour of duty, and 
the conduct of all the officers and noncommissioned 
officers must be based on a single well-defined plan of 
action. 

80. Obstructing Passage and Unlawful Assembly. — 
In practically every community the municipal ordinances 
or state statutes, or both, put in the hands of the local 
defense unit an admirably effective weapon for handling 
the situation which exists before a crowd has really 
formed. This is the regulation covering loitering in the 
streets and unlawful assembly. The usual form is some- 
thing like this: 

" Three or more persons shall not stand together 
or near each other in any street, or on any foot walk 
or sidewalk within the limits of the city, so as to 



TACTICS 57 

obstruct the free passage for foot passenger's, and 
any person or persons so standing shall move on 
immediately after a request to do so made by any 
peace officer. 

" Whenever three or more persons shall assemble 
with intent to commit any unlawful act by force; 
to carry out any purpose in such a manner as to dis- 
turb the public peace; or, being assembled, shall 
attempt or threaten any act tending toward a breach 
of the peace or an injury to persons or property, such 
an assembly is unlawful, and every person par- 
ticipating therein by his presence, aid or instigation 
shall be guilty of a misdemeanor/ ' 
Every officer and noncommissioned officer of a local 
defense unit should know exactly what are the local 
regulations covering unlawful assembly and gatherings 
in the streets. He should use them, in the stages before 
a disorderly crowd has formed, to keep people constantly 
moving. Trouble rarely starts as long as stationary 
groups are never allowed to form, particularly if the mo- 
tion is maintained in one direction. This can almost 
always be accomplished without the use of force, pro- 
vided the local defense commander has enough men at 
his disposal. 

Example. Captain Smith, commanding Com- 
pany A of the local defense battalion, is notified by 
the commanding officer that a meeting of teamsters 
is scheduled for 8 p. m. that same evening at Brown's 
Hall, which is situated in Captain Smith's military 
district. The teamsters have been restless, and 



58 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 

there have been rumors of a strike and threats of 
violence. Brown's Hall is on the second floor, and 
there is a saloon underneath it. 

Captain Smith at once orders his company to 
mobilize at a public garage about foupftlocks away 
from the hall, setting the hour of mobilization at 
7 p. m., so that the teamsters and his men will not 
be turning up at the same time. He also directs 
three or four ununiformed men to report for duty. 
As soon as the company is fully mobilized, he notifies 
battalion headquarters of the fact, stating that his 
field headquarters, until further notice, will be at 
the public garage, the telephone number of which he 
likewise reports. Then he issues his orders covering 
patrols and reliefs, with provision for the guard at 
the garage. His patrols in the neighborhood of the 
hall will be a full squad each. 

As the meeting progresses, he observes that men 
are frequently coming out of the hall and entering 
the saloon beneath. His ununiformed men, there- 
fore, pay sundry casual visits to the saloon, where 
they learn that the teamsters in the hall are planning 
to leave in a body and proceed to a neighboring 
freight office, where trucks are being loaded. 

Captain Smith explains to his men that, after the 
meeting is over, no groups will be allowed to loiter 
on the sidewalk or in the street within two blocks of 
either the hall or the freight office, and that groups 
on the north sidewalks of each street will be moved 
east, while those on the south sidewalks will be 



TACTICS 59 

moved west. Similarly, on the cross streets, groups 
on the west sidewalks will be moved north, and 
those on the east sidewalks will be moved south. 
He lays this schedule out in such a way that the 
men leaving the hall will be unable to start in the 
direction of the freight house without crossing the 
street. He then dispatches a platoon to the freight 
office. 

About 9 p. m. Captain Smith strengthens his 
patrols so that his company is disposed as follows: 
four squads at the freight office; two squads at the 
garage; three squads held in reserve in the side 
street nearest to the hall; three squads in line at the 
curb across the street from the hall; four squads 
patrolling the street in front of the hall and the next 
side street leading in the direction of the freight 
office. When the meeting breaks up, and the first 
men come straggling out of the door, they see op- 
posite them the three squads in line. They hesitate, 
then start to move in the direction of the freight 
office; already, however, much of their enthusiasm 
is dampened, for they had expected to wait undis- 
turbed on the sidewalk until more men had come 
down from the hall. Promptly one of the patrols 
stops them and orders them to go in the other direc- 
tion. If they are slow in obeying, or attempt to 
argue, the patrol, in diagonal formation (see Par- 
agraph 110) sets them in motion. The next patrol 
picks up the second group emerging from the hall, 
and so on. At the corner the men encounter the 



60 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 



three squads held there in reserve, which pay no 
attention to them unless they attempt to proceed 
along the wrong side of the street, in which case a 
squad turns them back. Within ten minutes, and 
without the necessity for striking a blow, the streets 
are likely to be cleared, and a serious menace has 
been averted. If, however, any of the more ad- 
venturous among the teamsters attempt to reach 
the freight office by roundabout routes, they get 
there only to encounter the four squads detailed as 
a guard. The first man who resists when directed 
to move on is promptly arrested (see Paragraph 82) 
for violating the ordinance with regard to loitering 
on the street. 

As soon as everything is quiet, Captain Smith 
reports the fact to battalion headquarters, and if no 
further orders are issued to him, and a careful survey 
of the district leads him to believe that there is no 
danger of further trouble, he dismisses his company. 
81. Establishing Restrictions. — When it is desired to 
prevent a crowd from forming, the plan to be followed 
should not only be made perfectly clear to the men of the 
local defense unit, but also, in many cases, to the public. 
For instance, in a case of industrial trouble, the com- 
manding officer intends to prevent a crowd from forming 
in front of the entrance to the factory affected. He there- 
fore directs his men to permit no one to loiter on the 
streets or sidewalks adjoining the factory, to permit no 
vehicles to stop on the street in front of the building, to 
allow no one to pass along the north sidewalk except in a 



. 



TACTICS 61 

westerly direction, and no one along the south sidewalk 
except when going east. These restrictions should at 
once be made clear by the men of the command to any 
individuals or groups who may be disposed to dispute 
them, and the squads on guard at each end of the block 
should take pains to see that the regulations are fully 
understood. 

82. Arrests. — It is assumed that, in any period of 
active service, the members of a local defense unit will 
be clothed with the powers of peace officers, as special 
constables, deputy sheriffs or state constabulary. It is 
essential that this should be done, as otherwise the legal 
authority of individual members to issue orders or make 
arrests will be doubtful. It is the duty of all officers to 
see that their men fully and clearly understand the essen- 
tials of the state or local laws and ordinances under which 
they may be called upon to act, and it is well to have a 
brief printed synopsis of these laws placed in every man's 
hands. In dealing with a crowd, the making of arrests 
requires a considerable amount of good judgment. Arrests 
should, of course, be made whenever possible in cases 
of actual violence; there should be no delay in capturing 
any man seen to throw a stone, display a firearm or 
other dangerous weapon, or damage property. On the 
other hand, it is undesirable to make arrests for mere 
stubbornness or slowness in obeying orders, if the desired 
result can be attained by simpler means. It is needless 
to say that every order, once given, must be absolutely 
enforced; but in dealing with the initial stages of a dis- 
orderly crowd, a combination of tact, coolness and de- 



62 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 

termination will render many an arrest unnecessary. At 
times, however, an arrest is exceedingly desirable, either 
to remove a persistent trouble-maker from the scene, 
or for its effect on the crowd. An arrest, if ordered, should 
be made at once (for tactics see Paragraph 122). The 
more rapidly the order is executed, the greater will be 
the effect on those who witness it. The arrested person 
should be at once conveyed away from the scene, and 
promptly turned over to the proper civil authorities; the 
man making the arrest, together with at least one witness, 
should always accompany the prisoner to the police or 
sheriffs office, in order to give a clear account of the 
reasons for his arrest. 

83. The Necessity for Discipline. — In dealing with 
any kind of a crowd, it must be remembered that the 
local defense unit will almost invariably be very greatly 
outnumbered; odds of ten to one must be accepted as 
nothing in any way abnormal. In the case of a mob the 
military organization has the advantage of being jus- 
tified from the start in using its rifles; intimidating the 
mob may prove a costly and bloody process, but it can 
be done, and the mob knows it. In handling a crowd 
the local defense unit can have no such overwhelming 
advantage in weapons; it has rifles, shotguns and re- 
volvers, indeed, but its object is to avoid using them. 
The one way in which it can offset the numerical supe- 
riority of the crowd is by its discipline. One hour of ef- 
fectively applied crowd tactics will more than justify all 
the weeks spent in executing Squads Right, for it is only 
through the discipline and precision acquired in rigorous 



TACTICS 63 

close order drill that the unit can be sure of fulfilling 
its mission. This point should be particularly impressed 
on all the men. The minute the local defense unit, face 
to face with a crowd which has in it the elements of a 
dangerous mob, loses its military cohesion, it sinks almost 
to the level of the crowd, and it has every right to expect 
failure. 

84. Working as Units. — It follows that, on active 
service, military discipline should be enforced with ab- 
solute rigidity. All close order movements should be 
executed with the precision of the drill ground. Orders 
and commands must be obeyed with unhesitating 
promptness. Above all, the units must work as such, 
never permitting the individuals composing them to 
straggle away. The officers and noncommissioned 
officers must keep their men always in hand; whether 
the commanding officer orders Corporal Jones to make 
an arrest with his squad, or Captain Smith to clear a 
street with his company, the unit must be immediately 
and completely available. The weakness of many local 
defense units lies in the tendency of the men, under the 
impulse of excitement, to forget that they are effective, 
not as individuals, but only as parts of a machine. 
Discipline, in substance, means simply that the com- 
manding officer can make his will immediately and 
effectively felt by every man under his command, and 
this he cannot do unless each company, platoon, section 
and squad is doing its work in proper relation to the 
work of the whole body. 

Example. Captain Smith has a turbulent crowd 



64 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 

on his hands, which he is barely managing to hold 
in check. Three platoons are holding the crowd 
back on the sidewalks, so as to keep the street from 
being blocked; the fourth platoon (two sections) 
has been ordered to stay in reserve, in close order, 
in the middle of the street. Several of the men, 
however, seeing that their comrades lined up along 
the curbs are having a hard time, have gone to their 
assistance, two of the four squad leaders being among 
the stragglers. 

Suddenly Captain Smith observes that a group 
of trouble-makers has formed in the sheltering dark- 
ness of a neighboring alley, from which they seem 
to be preparing to rush out. He immediately com- 
mands Sergeant Brown, one of the section com- 
manders of the reserve platoon, to throw his section 
into wedge formation (see Paragraph 106), and 
charge up the alley, dispersing whatever groups he 
finds there. Sergeant Brown gives the command, 
but his section has scattered; only 9 of his 16 men 
are assembled, and, owing to the blank files, they 
cannot readily take their proper positions in the 
wedge. The whole purpose of the captain in holding 
out a reserve has been frustrated, and perhaps the 
crowd has been permitted to pass the line which has 
kept it from being a mob, simply because half a 
dozen men forgot their discipline in their desire to 
"get into the fight. " 
85. One Man in Command. — Whether the unit for 
the moment is a squad or a regiment, there is one man, 



1 



TACTICS 65 

and one only, in command. He may make mistakes, but 
it is infinitely better that he should make them, and have 
his men obey his orders, than that some of them should 
endeavor to correct what they take to be his errors by 
acting in opposition to orders and according to their own 
judgment of what should be done. It takes years of 
military training to instill this idea into some men's 
heads; it is perhaps the hardest task of the officers of 
any local defense unit to get it fully understood by all 
their men. It is, however, worth far more than all the 
work it has cost when an officer sees a unit operating 
with perfect steadiness and cohesion in the face of dan- 
ger, and knows that he can direct the entire force of that 
unit wherever he chooses with the same certainty as that 
with which he can control the discharge of his own pistol. 
The figure is worth remembering: the disciplined com- 
pany is a smoothly working automatic pistol, the seven 
bullets from which can be directed at one target, or at 
seven, with no fear that a single one of them will fail; 
the undisciplined company is a rusty matchlock gun, 
slow to operate, capable of firing only one shot without 
reloading, and likely to miss fire at the critical moment. 
86. The Military Attitude. — The discipline of the unit, 
and its full effect on the crowd, can be maintained only 
if every man preserves a strictly military attitude toward 
his work. Here again, what is easy enough for the pro- 
fessional soldier is often very hard for the volunteer of 
the local defense unit. He may see some one he knows 
in the crowd, or he may be tempted to stop and argue a 
point with a windy breeder of disorder. Herein lies one 



66 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 

great value of the uniform: it goes far toward accom- 
plishing an actual transformation of the man who wears 
it, and helps to make a soldier, for the time being, out 
of a civilian. The men must be taught to go about their 
work quietly, firmly and impersonally. They must 
absolutely disregard abuse, taunts and vile language — of 
which a single day of riot service will bring them more 
than they had previously heard in their entire lives. 
They must never argue or quarrel. Their business is to 
obey orders and make their own orders immediately obeyed. 
87. Impartiality. — In any industrial disturbance, such 
as a strike, it is essential to the maintenance of this im- 
personal military attitude that the local defense unit 
should remain strictly impartial, and never give ground 
for the accusation that it is taking sides. Its single 
business is to maintain peace and order, which means 
the protection of life and property. Since the property 
particularly open to attack belongs to one of the parties 
to the controversy, the other side — the strikers — will, 
of course, assume that the local defense unit is acting 
solely in behalf of the property owners. Every possible 
measure should be taken to demonstrate that the unit 
is under orders from no one but the civil authorities, and 
that it is working for the best interests of all law-abiding 
citizens. It should take pains actually to assist the 
strikers in anything that is entirely legitimate for them 
to do, and in case there is a hostile, or strike-breaking, 
faction inclined to violence, the local defense unit should 
show its impartiality by affording full protection to the 
strikers. It should be careful not to be placed under 



TACTICS 67 

obligation to either party in an industrial dispute; all 
questions regarding compensation for time lost, supplies 
of food, and other expenses which a corporation is usually 
glad to incur for the sake of efficient protection during 
a strike, should be dealt with by the civil authorities, 
not by the officers of the unit. The city, county or state 
government may accept remuneration to cover actual 
expenses involved in affording protection; the local de- 
fense unit as such should never do so. 

88. Saving the Men. — The local defense unit officer on 
active service must never forget the extent of the sac- 
rifice which his men are making in thus giving so freely 
of their time and strength. Some of them can ill afford 
to lose many hours or days from their work. The officers 
should, therefore, do everything to save their men that 
is consonant with reasonable prudence and safety. In 
the city the likely times for trouble are evenings, Sun- 
days and holidays; on weekdays between 8:30 a. m. and 
4:30 p. m. the mass of the population has better things 
to do than joining in disorderly demonstrations. It is 
thus often possible during an extended tour of duty to 
let many of the men go to their work for at least a part 
of each day. In a similar way, they should be given every 
possible opportunity to spend at least a few hours at 
home. They will cheerfully put up with almost any 
amount of fatigue and discomfort when on duty if they 
feel that their officers will give them every bit of freedom 
that is consistent with the public safety. 

89. Quarters and Food. — The proper quartering and 
feeding of the men when on active service is a matter 



68 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 

of the utmost importance, and one which depends so 
largely on local conditions that very few general principles 
can be formulated. In the city the men will rarely need 
to be quartered in tents, and if the trouble is of short 
duration, or not serious, many or all of them will be able 
to sleep at their homes. In a situation of any gravity, 
however, it will almost always be necessary to keep men 
at or near the danger points, or at some central location 
in reserve, ready for instant service, both night and day. 
The essential thing is not to disperse these forces at night; 
the men on duty, for instance, should never be quartered 
in private houses, a few to each house, if it can possibly 
be avoided. An armory, public hall, schoolhouse, church, 
car station, railroad station, freight terminal, warehouse, 
factory or other large building can generally be secured 
and converted into temporary barracks (see Paragraph 
60). If a company is assigned to or selects such a build- 
ing, it should at once be thoroughly inspected by the 
company commander, accompanied by the mess sergeant, 
supply sergeant and hospital sergeant. Among the most 
important things to be noted are: space available for 
cots; ventilation; toilet facilities; general cleanliness; 
danger of fire; facilities for messing; space for company 
office; space for medical dispensary; drinking water 
facilities; liability to attack; heating apparatus and fuel 
supply. If they are not already on hand, the supply 
sergeant should at once provide plenty of brooms, some 
sweeping compound, wash basins, a couple of mops and 
pails, at least two closed receptacles for refuse, a plentiful 
supply of clean cloths or rags, and soap. If the men have 



TACTICS 69 

to be messed in the building, extensive further supplies 
will be necessary, particularly if cooking must be done 
on the premises. 

90. Going to and From Duty. — In any prolonged tour 
of duty, the problem of transportation demands serious 
consideration. Men permitted to go to their offices 
during the day, or to their homes at night, must get 
from and to the company quarters safely and with the 
minimum of delay. Public conveyances, such as street- 
cars, can, of course, be used, but it is the duty of each 
company commander to see that his men run no needless 
risk by appearing in public alone in uniform. A man 
going home alone at night during a period of disorder 
invites attack. So far as possible, the company com- 
mander should arrange to have such of his men as are 
going home at night transported in automobiles or motor 
trucks, and brought back in the same way early the next 
morning. Neglect in this matter may easily result in 
serious and entirely avoidable casualties. 

91. Routine in Quarters. — The routine of a local de- 
fense company quartered in temporary barracks during 
an emergency should be essentially that of the Regular 
Army. The duty roster should be drawn up, and all 
details posted on the company bulletin board. Guard 
should be properly mounted each day, and maintained 
so long as the quarters are occupied. The routine bugle 
calls should regularly be used, the schedule of calls being 
posted daily on the bulletin board. Ingress to or egress 
from the building should, whenever possible, be by pass 
only, except in the case of details on duty. Sentries 



70 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 

should be carefully instructed as to their special orders, 
which should be made as simple as possible. Everything 
should be done to impress on all the men the military 
nature of their temporary mode of life; a little extra 
attention to discipline and detail in barracks will be more 
than repaid by increased efficiency in the field. Par- 
ticular emphasis should be laid on keeping the quarters 
properly policed; local defense volunteers are, as a rule, 
more eager to fight than to sweep, but, if properly en- 
couraged, they can easily be taught to take pride in 
keeping their quarters always clean. Inspections should 
be frequent and searching. 

92. Preparing for a Mob. — In dealing with a city 
crowd, either imminent or actual, the local defense unit 
commander should always be prepared for the eventual- 
ity of its getting out of hand and suddenly becoming a 
mob. The longer the tour of duty, the greater the likeli- 
hood of an outburst which will put the entire task on a 
new basis. The commander should, therefore, always 
hold in reserve enough men, including rifle and shotgun 
men (see Paragraphs 45-46), so that if he finds himself 
confronted with a mob in place of a crowd, he will be 
in a position to deal with it effectively. This applies 
with equal force to the commander of a detached com- 
pany or platoon; he must always prepare for something 
worse than a crowd, while doing his utmost to prevent 
this something from ever developing. 

93. Patrolling. — It is quite possible that the unit will 
be mobilized on a general threat of trouble, although no 
specific outbreaks have anywhere occurred. In that 



TACTICS 71 

case, and also throughout the entire period of any pro- 
longed disturbance, the matter of patrolling is of the 
utmost importance. Disorder starts and spreads with 
alarming rapidity, and in a large city there is no telling 
where sporadic cases of it may occur. The only possible 
way in which the unit can adequately cover its territory 
is through an extensive system of patrols, maintained 
night and day. This is true above all when the dis- 
order is not closely centered; in a traction strike, for 
instance, a unit of a few hundred men may find itself 
responsible for the safety of the public along scores of 
miles of street-car lines. Isolated cases of violence 
and disorder do not often lead to mobs, but they are 
none the less menaces to the public peace, and a stray 
stone or pistol shot may at any time cost one or more 
lives. Thorough patrolling is the only protection against 
this kind of danger. 

94. Motor Patrols. — In the city, and to a great extent 
in the country as well, the best method of handling local 
defense patrols is by automobile. The ordinary open 
touring car will hold just the right number of men, be- 
sides the driver; no motor patrol should be of less than 
four men if it can possibly be helped. It can cover a great 
amount of ground; it is fast enough to get quickly to the 
scene of any trouble; it provides a convenient method 
for bringing in prisoners; it can, at need, be sent for re- 
enforcements, and, also at need, it can accommodate 
ten or a dozen men. The foot patrol, by comparison, 
is slow and inefficient, and should only be used in a few 
crowded sections where an automobile might find itself 



72 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 

blocked. The system of motor patrolling should be laid 
out in accordance with the military districts (see Par- 
agraph 78), and each district commander should prepare 
a definite time and route schedule for each patrol. Points 
should be designated, and times set, at which patrols 
should report in by telephone. Limousines should never 
be used for motor patrolling, as their glass is too tempting 
to stones or shots. The tops of touring cars used in this 
service should always be put back. A considerable part 
of the effectiveness of the motor patrol system lies in 
the fact that it is conspicuous; a would-be trouble- 
maker's ardor is considerably dampened if every few 
minutes he encounters a big car full of uniformed and 
armed men, obviously on the lookout for him. 

95. Pickets. — The motor patrol system should in 
many cases be supplemented by the establishment of 
pickets at selected points within each military district. 
Ordinarily no company will establish more than two of 
these, for while important points should be strongly 
guarded, it is always better to leave positions without 
guards, and trust to the motor patrols to report and, if 
possible, check trouble, than to try to cover them with 
inadequate numbers. The picket should never be less 
than two full squads. It should be placed at a point, 
such as an important street intersection or open square, 
which needs constant watching; it should always be 
sheltered in a house or shop, and should have one or 
two automobiles on hand. The location of all com- 
pany pickets, with their telephone numbers, should be 
known to all motor patrols sent out by the company 



TACTICS 73 

commander. The picket can frequently send out one 
or two foot patrols to cover the immediate neighborhood, 
but its force should never be widely scattered. The 
establishment of too many pickets weakens the company 
reserve, and likewise cuts down the number of men avail- 
able for motor patrol duty. 

96. Written Orders and Reports. — When the local de- 
fense unit is on active service, all orders should, when- 
ever possible, be in writing, or, still better, typewritten. 
This applies equally to orders from the commanding 
officer to his battalion or company commanders and to 
orders from a lieutenant to a squad leader. Orders 
delivered by telephone or orally should be confirmed in 
writing at the first opportunity. In a similar way, all 
reports should be made or confirmed in writing. For 
this purpose a portable typewriter, such as the Corona 
(see Paragraph 61), is of very great value, as carbon 
copies of orders can then easily be made. All officers 
and noncommissioned officers should be furnished with 
printed order and report blanks, and instructed as to the 
proper manner of using them. 

97. When a Crowd has Formed. — The foregoing par- 
agraphs (72-96) refer to local defense service in the city 
in general, and particularly to those phases of it which 
exist when no large and disorderly crowd has formed. 
They cover what may be called the ordinary routine of 
crowd tactics, including the important point of prevent- 
ing a crowd from forming. If, however, a crowd — not a 
mob — does form, the problem of the local defense unit 
then is to disperse it or hold it in check, to prevent it 



74 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 

from becoming a mob, to restrain the violence of individ- 
uals, and to accomplish all this, if possible, without 
bloodshed. The tactics adapted to the solution of this 
problem form the basis of the following paragraphs 
(Nos. 98-174). 

98. Limiting Use of Firearms. — It may be taken as 
axiomatic that firearms should never be employed against 
a crowd, as distinct from a mob, except (a) when an in- 
dividual is compelled to use his revolver in self-defense, 
or (b) when acts of such extreme violence have been 
committed by individual members of the crowd that it 
may be necessary to order sharpshooters to pick them off 
in order to prevent further mischief. In other words, the 
use of firearms against crowds is sharply limited to in- 
dividual cases, and the crowd as a whole should never 
be fired on, unless, of course, it should suddenly assume 
the characteristics of a dangerous mob. The same prin- 
ciple holds good, in large measure, for the bayonet; its 
use against crowds is almost certain to result in bloodshed 
which, nine times out of ten, could and should have been 
avoided. The rifle butt is, of course, an exceedingly 
effective weapon under certain circumstances, but it, 
like the bayonet, inflicts nasty injuries if used with any 
degree of force. The object of any butt stroke is to dis- 
able the antagonist completely, whereas in dealing with 
a crowd the chief need is for some form of forceful per- 
suasion, which will do its work with the minimum of 
casualties. 

99. Moral Effect of Rifles. — It is often urged that the 
moral effect of rifles in crowd duty is great. This is 



TACTICS 75 

absolutely true when the rifles are in the hands of reg- 
ular troops, or when the situation is so serious that rifle 
fire or bayonet charges may be used at any moment. 
For the local defense unit, however, the moral effect is 
too often just the reverse of what is intended. The crowd 
knows that, so long as it keeps within certain limits, the 
rifles will never be fired, or the bayonets used; and 
though at first a company with rifles and fixed bayonets 
may seem very impressive, the impression wears off after 
a few minutes of contact. There are certain definite 
exceptions to this: sentries, for instance, should always 
be armed with loaded rifles and fixed bayonets, or with 
loaded shotguns, and whenever a unit such as a com- 
pany or battalion brings its reserve into the field, though 
not necessarily into action, the reserve should always 
include men armed with rifles and shotguns. 

100. Never Bluff. — The whole question of proper arms 
for crowd or mob duty may be summed up in two words: 
Never Bluff. Give your men weapons they can use, 
and which the crowd knows they are ready to use. It 
follows that an unloaded rifle or revolver on active service 
is little short of a crime. A unit which sends its men out 
to disperse a crowd with empty rifles deserves to have 
half of them brought back as casualties. Blank car- 
tridges are covered by the same rule; there is absolutely 
no excuse for ever issuing them to men going out on active 
service. Nothing will do more to encourage a crowd to 
violence than the feeling that the force holding or at- 
tempting to hold it in check is " throwing a bluff," and 
rifles or even shotguns in service against a crowd, except 



76 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 

when held with the reserves, are always more or less 
patent bluffs. 

101. Formations for Crowd Tactics. — With firearms 
thus virtually debarred from crowd tactics, the riot stick 
(see Paragraphs 48-49) becomes the chief offensive 
weapon. Since the combat tactics designed for infantry 
are based exclusively on the use of rifle fire and the 
bayonet, it follows that they cannot possibly prove al- 
together adapted to conditions based on absolutely 
different weapons. It is necessary, therefore, to devise 
special formations for use against crowds. The fun- 
damental point of difference is this: that in infantry com- 
bat tactics it is essential that no man in the firing line 
should even partially mask a comrade so as to interfere 
with his field of fire. In the bayonet charge the same 
principle holds good; each man must have a free field for 
the use of his weapon, without having to fear lest he 
should plunge it into a comrade's back. Thus the basis 
of infantry combat tactics is the single deployed firing 
line, with supports and reserves to reenforce it, and the 
single deployed charging line, which may, and normally 
does, form one "wave" in a series, each wave being well 
separated from the one preceding it. Crowd tactics, on 
the other hand, are based on shock action and personal 
contact; not only is it harmless to have the men partially 
mask one another, but it is often an added source of 
power. 

Example. A platoon in skirmish line is endeavor- 
ing to clear a crowded street. Resistance is un- 
equally distributed, and where it is stiff est the line 



TACTICS 77 

makes slow progress. Thus it becomes concave, 
and at the very points where the greatest degree of 
concentration is necessary to overcome resistance, 
the men are pulled farthest apart. There is little 
or no opportunity to concentrate the strength of 
the entire unit where it is needed, and a complete 
break in the line, necessitating the use of reinforce- 
ments to patch it up, may easily result. 

If the platoon is in close order, the rear rank man 
is practically useless, because his file leader com- 
pletely masks him, and he has no opportunity to 
bring his riot stick into play. Moreover, the front 
of the platoon is greatly contracted; even allowing 
for the guides, a platoon in close order occupies only 
a width of thirty-nine feet, whereas the street to be 
cleared may be seventy or eighty. 

If, on the other hand, the platoon is in wedge (see 

Paragraph 109) or wedge-and-diagonal (see Figure 6) 

formation, every added pressure tends to bring the 

men closer together, and thereby strengthen the 

line. The men are all in contact with the crowd, 

and there is no injurious masking. Finally, the 

platoon occupies the same amount of front as in an 

ordinary deployed line. 

102. Three Standard Formations. — For crowd tactics 

three standard formations should be adopted : the wedge, 

the diagonal, and the deployed line. The first two may 

be formed by a squad, section or platoon; the third may 

be formed by a unit of any size. The wedge is the normal 

offensive formation, with the diagonal primarily as an 



78 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 

adjunct thereto; the deployed line will be used chiefly 
for defensive purposes. It is identical in appearance, but 
not in method of formation or the relative order of the 
men, with the skirmish line of the Infantry Drill Regula- 
tions (School of the Squad, Paragraph 124). 

The Wedge 

103. The squad being in line, assembled, to form 
wedge: 1. Squad, 2. Wedge. 

ir f?\ ' The squad leader gives the corn- 

er ^ Ut Jp 2/ mand, and at the command of execu- 
a \ \ ' i ' ! zn ti° n s P r i n g s about three paces to the 
\ l Ml I / / front, in front of No. 3 front rank. 
i \ l\! I I j The men, moving at a run, post them- 
\ \ / i I j I selves in two lines to his right and 
\ V/l/ / / ^^ rear > eac ' 1 man one-half pace be- 
\ /•/ !\ ! ' \nvA and one-half pace to the right 

\\\\\l I (or left) of the man ahead of him. 

.K/Sf \ S ^he front-rank men are on the squad 

leader's right rear, No. 3 nearest him, 
Y then No. 2, then No. 1. The rear-rank 

dcididj men are on his left rear, No. 1 nearest 

Fig 1 —Squad Wedge him ' then ^°* 2 > then ^°* 3 * ^°* 4 °^ 

from Line Assem- the rear rank follows the squad leader, 

bfed and takes position inside the wedge. 

If the movement is executed from a 

halt, the squad leader and the men halt when they reach 

their proper positions; if the squad is marching in quick 

time, the wedge continues to advance in quick time, and 



TACTICS 79 

if in double time, the wedge advances in double time. 
The squad leader sets the wedge in motion from a halt, 
and regulates its gait and direction, with the command, 
Follow Me (see Figure 1). 

104. The squad being in wedge formation, to assemble 
in line: 1. Assemble, 2. March. 

If at a halt, the squad leader stands fast; if marching, 
he halts. The men resume their proper positions with 
relation to the squad leader. 

105. The squad being in wedge formation, marching 
at quick or double time, to march to the rear: 1. To the 
Rear, 2. March. 

If marching at quick time: all the men execute To the 
Rear, March (Infantry Drill Regulations, Paragraph 72). 
No. 4 of the rear rank takes the double time for about 
six paces, when he resumes the quick time. No. 1 rear 
rank and No. 3 front rank take the double time till they 
are one-half pace to the rear and one-half pace to the 
right and left, respectively, of No. 4 rear rank, when they 
resume the quick time. No. 2 rear rank and No. 2 front 
rank execute the same movements with relation to, 
respectively, No. 1 rear rank and No. 3 front rank. 
No. 3 rear rank and No. 1 front rank simply execute To 
the Rear, March. The squad leader follows No. 4 rear 
rank, taking position inside the wedge. 

If marching at double time: all the men except No. 4 
rear rank assume quick time before executing To the 
Rear, March. No. 4 rear rank executes To the Rear, 
March, and continues at double time; the other men 
resume the double in time to take their proper relative 



80 



MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 



positions with regard to No. 4 rear rank, as indicated in 

the preceding paragraph. 

Note. It will be seen from the foregoing that 
the squad in wedge formation, when marching to the 
rear, simply turns itself inside out, No. 4 of the rear 
rank becoming the apex of the wedge in place of the 
squad leader, who assumes No. 4 rear rank's normal 
position inside the wedge. 
106. The section (two squads) being in line or column, 

assembled, to form wedge: 1. Section, 2. Wedge. 



if 



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8r 






I 



v 1 I I 

\ .' ! 



Ur 



to 

I 



2r 

7-* 



/£ 



p 6 



\ \ \ \\i i 
\\\\\ Will 1/1/ / 

* x \ • » '. ! I ' l/l ''I ' 
\ \ ' \i \\ , »/ /i // /i 

\ ^ib^a^cWb/ 

\ \ \ V I I I I 

Fig. 2. — Section Wedge from Line Assembled. 

The section leader gives the command, and at the 
command of execution springs about six paces to the 
front, in front of the center of his section. The men, 
moving at a run, post themselves in two lines to his right 



TACTICS 81 

and left rear, each man one-half pace behind and one- 
half pace to the right (or left) of the man ahead of him. 
The first (right or leading) squad is on the section leader's 
right rear, the second (left or rear) squad on his left rear. 
Each squad forms in accordance with the principles 
governing the deployed line in crowd tactics (Paragraph 
118), the front rank on the right (Nos. 1, 2 and 3 in order 
from right to left), the rear rank on the left (Nos. 1, 2, 3 
and 4 in order from right to left). The squad leaders are 
in rear of their respective squads, inside the wedge. 
If the movement is executed from a halt, the section 
leader and the men halt when they reach their proper 
positions; if the section is marching in quick time, the 
wedge continues to advance in quick time; if it is march- 
ing in double time, the section leader takes quick time 
until all the men are in position; the wedge then resumes 
double time without command. The section leader sets 
the wedge in motion from a halt, and regulates its gait 
and direction, with the command, Follow Me (see 
Figure 2). 

107. The section being in wedge formation, to assemble 
in line: 1. Assemble, 2. March. 

If at a halt, No. 4 rear rank of the first (right) squad 
and No. 1 front rank of the second (left) squad stand 
fast; if marching, they halt. The squads form on 
them in line, No. 4 rear rank of the first squad re- 
maining in the front rank till his squad is formed, 
when he drops back and the squad leader takes his 
proper place. 

108. The section being in wedge formation, marching 



82 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 

at quick or double time, to march to the rear: 1. To the 
Rear, 2. March. 

The section turns inside out as prescribed for the squad 
(Paragraph 105), except that the section leader continues 
to be the apex of the wedge, and that the squad leaders 
pass through the line so as to retain their positions in 
the rear of their respective squads. 

109. The wedge formation may be assumed by a 
platoon of four or more squads, but in general this forma- 
tion will not be used, the wedge with flanking diagonals 
(see Figure 6) being normally more effective for so large 
a unit. The platoon forms a wedge by the same methods 
as those prescribed for the section (Paragraph 106), 
except that the platoon leader, before giving the com- 
mand, Platoon, Wedge, indicates the center of his 
platoon. Squads to the right or in advance of the center 
form on the platoon leader's right rear; those to the left 
or behind it form on his left rear. To assemble the pla- 
toon from wedge formation, the platoon leader com- 
mands, Assemble, March, and indicates the point of 
rest. The squad leaders bring their squads into position 
successively. 

The Diagonal 

110. The squad being in line, assembled, to form 
diagonal: 1. Diagonal, Guide Right (Left), 2. March. 

If the guide is right: No. 1 front rank moves forward 
at a run for about six paces; No. 2 front rank follows him, 
and posts himself 40 inches behind No. 1. The other 
men form line to the left rear of No. 2 front rank, each 



TACTICS 



83 



man one-half pace behind and one-half pace to the left 
of the man ahead of him. The order of the men is as 
for the deployed line in crowd tactics (Paragraph 118), 
No. 3 front rank being on the left rear of No. 2, and then, 
successively, Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the rear rank. The 



if 

tt ,'2f 

/V/P 



Sr\ H 

9U 



I »/ \J .1 

\W 

I / 1/ / / 

Fig. 3. — Squad Diagonal 
(Guide Right) from 
Line Assembled. 



UMT* 

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f\\\\ i 

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\\\ 

I * * \ 

Fig. 4. — Squad Diagonal 
(Guide Left) from Line 
Assembled. 



squad leader posts himself in front of No. 3 front rank. 
He may, if he chooses, however, post himself in front of 
No. 1 front rank, selecting whichever position gives him 
the better opportunity to lead his squad. If the move- 
ment is executed from a halt, the squad leader and the 
men halt when they reach their proper positions; if the 
squad is marching in quick or double time, the diagonal 



84 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 

advances at the same gait. The squad leader sets the 
diagonal in motion from a halt, and regulates its gait and 
direction, with the command, Follow Me (see Figure 3). 
If the guide is left: the squad leader moves forward at 
a run. No. 4 rear rank, followed in column by No. 3 
rear rank, runs forward for about six paces; Nos. 2 and 1 
of the rear rank post themselves successively to the right 
rear of No. 3. Nos. 3, 2 and 1 of the front rank swing to 
the right, posting themselves successively to the right 
rear of No. 1 rear rank. The squad leader takes post 
in front of No. 2 (or No. 4; see the preceding paragraph) 
of the rear rank (see Figure 4). 

111. The squad being in diagonal formation, to assem- 
ble in line: 1. Assemble, 2. March. 

The squad leader takes position in front of the squad, 
and halts; the men assume their proper positions with 
relation to the squad leader. 

112. The section being in line or column, assembled, to 
form diagonal: 1. Diagonal, Guide Right (Left), 
2. March. 

If the guide is right: the first (right or leading) squad 
executes Diagonal, guide right, March, as prescribed in 
Paragraph 110, except that the squad leader posts him- 
self behind No. 1 of the rear rank, and that No. 1 front 
rank moves forward about 10 paces; the second (left or 
rear) squad forms successively to the left rear of the first 
squad, No. 1 front rank being one-half pace behind and 
one-half pace to the left of No. 4 rear rank of the first 
squad; the leader of the second squad takes post in rear 
of No. 1 rear rank. The section leader posts himself in 



TACTICS 85 

front of No. 3 front rank of the first squad. If the move- 
ment is executed from a halt, the section leader and the 
men halt when they reach their proper positions; if the 
section is marching in quick time, the diagonal continues 
to advance in quick time; if it is marching in double time, 
the section leader takes quick time until all the men are 
in position; the diagonal then resumes the double time 
without command. 

If the guide is left: the second (left or rear) squad 
executes Diagonal, guide left, March, as prescribed in 
Paragraph 110, except that the squad leader posts him- 
self behind No. 1 of the rear rank, and that No. 4 rear 
rank moves forward about 10 paces (or 12 if the diagonal 
is formed from column). The first (right or leading) 
squad forms successively to the right rear of the second 
squad, No. 4 rear rank being one-half pace behind and 
one-half pace to the right of No. 1 front rank of the first 
squad; the leader of the first squad takes post in rear of 
No. 1 rear rank. The section leader posts himself in 
front of No. 2 rear rank of the second squad. 

113. The section being in diagonal formation, to assem- 
ble in line: 1. Assemble, 2. March, 

If the diagonal is marching, it halts. No. 4 rear rank 
of the first (right) squad and No. 1 front rank of the 
second (left) squad move straight to the front till they 
are two paces ahead of the advanced flank of the diagonal, 
and then halt. The squads form on them in line, No. 4 
rear rank of the first squad remaining in the front rank 
till his squad is formed, when he drops back and the 
squad leader takes his proper place. 



86 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 

114. The diagonal will rarely have occasion to execute 
To the Rear, March. If the movement is to be used, 
however, it will be executed by the same commands, 
and on the same principle, as prescribed for the wedge 
(see Paragraphs 105 and 108). 

115. The diagonal formation may be assumed by a 
platoon of four or more squads, but in general this forma- 
tion will not be used. The platoon forms a diagonal by 
the same methods as those prescribed for the section 
(Paragraph 112), the additional squads simply continuing 
the line to the left (or right) rear of the leading section. 
To assemble the platoon in line, the platoon leader com- 
mands, Assemble, March, and indicates the point of rest. 
The squad leaders bring their squads into position suc- 
cessively. 

116. The squad or section being in diagonal formation, 
to form wedge: 1. Squad (Section), 2. Wedge. 

The leader takes the proper position in front of his 
command so as to be the apex of the wedge, when formed. 
The men, moving at a run, assume the relative positions 
indicated in Paragraphs 103 and 106. The general pro- 
visions of these two paragraphs apply equally to the 
wedge formed from diagonal. 

Conversely, the squad or section being in wedge forma- 
tion, to form diagonal: 1. Diagonal, Guide Right 
(Left), 2. March. 

No. 1 front rank, right squad (if the guide is right) or 
No. 4 rear rank, left squad (if the guide is left) takes the 
proper position, and the men form on him as indicated 
in Paragraphs 110 and 112. The general provisions of 



TACTICS 87 

these two paragraphs apply equally to the diagonal 
formed from wedge. 

The Deployed Line 

117. It is apparent from the foregoing paragraphs 
(103-116) that the basis for all wedge and diagonal 
formations is the deployment of the squad with the 
front rank on the right (Nos. 1, 2 and 3 in succession 
from right to left) and the rear rank on the left (Nos. 1, 
2, 3 and 4 in succession from right to left). Any attempt 
to utilize the standard method of deployment, with rear 
rank men to the right of their file leaders, for these special 
formations is bound to result in confusion, as the men's 
paths cross each other in such a way that collisions are 
inevitable. In order that the deployed line formation 
may be assumed quickly and without confusion from 
close order, the wedge, or the diagonal, it is, therefore, 
essential that it, too, should be based on the principle 
of the front rank forming on the right, the rear rank on 
the left. Only in this way can each man always be sure 
of his exact position in each formation. The dissimilar- 
ity between this and the standard deployment makes 
a separate command desirable. 

118. The squad being assembled in line, in wedge, or in 
diagonal, to form deployed line: 1. Deploy, 2. March. 

No. 3 front rank springs about three paces straight to 
the front. Moving at a run, the men place themselves 
at half-pace intervals to his right and left, Nos. 2 and 1 
front rank successively to his right, Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 4 



88 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 

rear rank successively to his left. The squad leader posts 
himself either in front of or behind the center of the 
squad. If the movement is executed from a halt, the 
men halt as they come on the line established by No. 3 
front rank; if the squad is marching in quick or double 
time, the gait is maintained (see Figure 5). 

119. The section, platoon 

Ur Sr 2r lr 8f 2f if , . . 

cp qi u^\ q3 up tp cp or company being in any 

\ \ \ i j I J formation, to form deployed 

\ \ \ \ I j I line: 1. Deploy, Guide 

\ \ \ \\ i I / Right (Left, Center), 

\ \ \ ' \l I I 2 * March - 

\ \ \ I y' / / The announcement of the 

\ \ V j\ j j guide indicates the base 

\ \ /\ I \l I squad. The deployment 

\ v' \ f\ ! proceeds as in the stand- 

\^b\ficp ar ^ deployment (Infantry 

\ \ \ \ Drill Regulations, Para- 

6ciibd graphs 206-210), except 

Fig. 5.— Squad Deployed from that each squad is deployed 

Line Assembled. on the line as described in 

Paragraph 118. 

The assembly from deployed line is likewise executed 

as in the standard assembly (Infantry Drill Regulations, 

Paragraph 211), except that each squad assembles on 

No. 3 front rank. 

120. The wedge will be formed from the deployed line 
by the same commands, and according to the same prin- 
ciples, as from close order (Paragraphs 103 and 106), 
except that the leader will normally take a somewhat 



TACTICS . 89 

greater distance to the front. The diagonal will likewise 
be formed from the deployed line as described in Par- 
agraphs 110 and 112. 

121. Testing the Formations. — These three forma- 
tions — the wedge, the diagonal, and the deployed line — 
together with the normal close order formations, form 
an adequate basis for all crowd tactics. Their effective- 
ness depends very largely on the precision and speed 
with which they can be executed, and the steadiness with 
which the men can retain them in the face of opposition. 
They should, therefore, be constantly practiced at drill. 
It is an excellent plan to test them by detailing two or 
three squads to represent a crowd, and sending wedges 
and diagonals against them at both quick and double 
time. This practice has particular value because it is 
far easier to teach men to assume their positions quickly 
in the wedge or diagonal than it is to make them stay 
there when resistance is encountered. The temptation 
to carry on a single combat with an obstreperous oppo- 
nent is often great, but every man must be made to 
realize that it is his duty to stay in his place, and, if 
personally attacked, to get rid of his opponent just as 
expeditiously as he can. A thrust or blow with the riot 
stick will generally do the business. An occasional dash 
of football tactics in drill, in order to try out the special 
crowd formations, will do much toward fitting the men 
to meet actual resistance with steadiness. 

122. Employment of the Wedge. — The wedge is the 
normal offensive formation for breaking up, splitting or 
striking into a crowd. It will not normally, by itself, 



90 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 

clear a street or other open space, but it will so effectually 
split a crowd that clearing up whatever may be left is an 
easy matter. The section is the proper unit for work in 
the roadway of an ordinary city street, while the squad 
is best for the sidewalks. The squad wedge is the ideal 
formation for making an arrest out of a crowd — an opera- 
tion which almost always provokes resistance. The 
wedge plunges into the crowd; the squad leader seizes 
the person to be arrested, and the squad executes To the 
Rear, March (see Paragraph 105). The squad leader 
and his prisoner are thus covered by the two flanks of 
the wedge. If the movement is executed, as it always 
should be, at a run, the chances are that the arrest will 
be made, and the prisoner conveyed safely away, before 
the crowd fully realizes what has happened. 

123. Employment of the Diagonal. — The diagonal is 
chiefly for clearing a sidewalk or part of a street, generally 
for the purpose of obtaining an open space for further 
operations. A crowd on a sidewalk, or completely filling 
a street, is covered by the buildings on one or both 
flanks, and, if not pried loose, is often very hard to move. 
The wedge is ill adapted to this . purpose, as it tends to 
pocket part of the crowd between one of its own flanks 
and the building line. The diagonal, on the other hand, 
works like a snowplow, sweeping every one off to one 
side. When used on a sidewalk for this purpose, the 
guide (advanced flank) of the diagonal should always 
be on the side next to the building line. Squad diagonals 
operating on the sidewalks may often be advantageously 
used in conjunction with a section wedge (see Figure 6). 



TACTICS 



91 



124. Employment of the Deployed Line. — The de- 
ployed line in crowd tactics is chiefly a defensive forma- 
tion, to be used for holding ground cleared by the wedge 
or diagonal. Its weakness on the offense has been pre- 
viously discussed (see Paragraph 101). A deployed line 






13 

nana 
oaa 



Fig. 6. — Platoon in Wedge-and-Diagonals Formation, with 
Platoon in Support. 

is, however, often useful in support of a w r edge or diagonal. 
When a street, street intersection or open space has been 
cleared, a deployed line may be used to hold the crowd 
back. Sometimes it is not desirable, or immediately 
practicable, to disperse a crowd, and the object of the 
commander will be attained if the crowd is simply held 
in check — kept on the sidewalk, for instance. In this 
case a deployed line should be strung along the curb, or 
wherever the commander has fixed the limits of the 



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□ EJ \Z1 □ 


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Ell 








□□□a j 


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iziaaa^aaa 


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ana 




DDDDDDnn 





92 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 

crowd. The importance of using the form of deployment 
described in Paragraphs 117-120 is particularly apparent 
in such a situation, for it is essential that any squad or 
section thus deployed should be able instantly to assume 
the wedge formation in case a sudden offensive becomes 
necessary. 

125. Supports. — In general, none of these special 
formations, with the exception of the squad wedge for 
making an arrest, should ever be used without an ade- 
quate support. For the wedge and diagonal the support 
should, as a rule, be at least equal in strength to the 
front line. It should follow the front line closely enough 
to be able to reenforce it at need without a moment's 
delay, and yet not so closely as to lose its own freedom 
of maneuver. Five to 10 paces between a squad wedge 
or diagonal and its supporting squad, and 10 to 15 be- 
tween a section wedge or diagonal and its supporting 
section, may be accepted as normal. The support should 
march in close order unless there is good reason for not 
doing so, as it can be much more easily handled, par- 
ticularly toward the flanks, when it is assembled than 
when it is in any extended formation. The leader of the 
support should march in advance of his command. A 
defensive deployed line should always have a support, 
but the support may often be considerably weaker than 
what would be required for an attacking formation 
(see Figure 6). 

126. Reinforcements. — If an advancing wedge or 
diagonal encounters such resistance that it loses its 
momentum, or is in danger of being broken, it should be 



TACTICS 93 

at once and vigorously reenforced. Reinforcements 
should never be sent in in driblets; the entire support 
should be used, unless the need for help is sharply local- 
ized, in which case a squad may be sent to strengthen the 
point endangered. If the support is thus brought into 
action, it becomes the duty of the higher commander to 
supply a new support from his reserve. In reenforcing 
a wedge, diagonal or deployed line, the support should 
always assume the formation of the front line before 
coming up to it. Each man should come up to the right 
of the corresponding man in the front line. Reinforce- 
ment should be at double time; almost invariably what 
the front line needs is renewed impetus, which can best 
be given by a new line charging at full speed into the 
gaps, and by sheer weight and momentum driving the 
whole formation forward. To summon reinforcements, 
the leader of the front-line unit will call "Reenforce," 
or blow T his whistle and execute the arm signal for double 
time. The leader of the support will command Squad 
(Section or Platoon), Wedge (or the commands for 
forming diagonal or deployed line, as the case may be), 
Follow me. 

127. Reserves.— It is as true of crowd as of any other 
tactics that the commanding officer should maintain as 
large a reserve as possible, which he will not use until 
it is absolutely necessary. Having sent his reserve into 
action, he will take the first opportunity to form a new 
reserve from units temporarily disengaged, or from new 
units sent up from the rear. The reserve is the command- 
ing officer's most effective means of making his will felt; 



94 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 

without it he is powerless in case affairs take a suddenly 
adverse turn. The reserve should be as strong as pos- 
sible, and should include men armed with rifles and shot- 
guns, in case conditions become such as to necessitate 
a change from crowd to mob tactics. It should normally 
be held in close order, in a position where its flanks and 
rear can be readily protected. The reserve should not 
be dissipated by sending squads of it here and there; 
when used, it should be used as a unit, for the purpose of 
striking a crushing blow. 

128. Plenty of Men Needed. — In order to provide 
adequately for supports and reserves, it is of the utmost 
importance to have plenty of men. " Never send a boy 
to do a man's job" is an excellent rule for every local 
defense unit commander to remember — and a disorderly 
crowd is always a man's job. It is not necessary, or 
advisable, to throw the largest possible number of men 
into the attack, but whenever a disorderly crowd has 
formed, every man of the local defense unit who can 
possibly be spared from other duties should be on the 
ground, in the front line, in support, or in reserve. On 
the same principle, no subordinate commander should 
ever hesitate for a moment about asking for reinforce- 
ments whenever he thinks he needs them. Some officers 
have a wholly mistaken idea that this is a sign of weak- 
ness; the real proof of weakness is the vanity which leads 
an officer to risk his men's lives in order to make a grand- 
stand play. If no reinforcements are available, the 
officer must do the best he can without them; but when 
things look threatening, he has not done his full duty by 



TACTICS 95 

the men under him until he has put the responsibility up 
to his superior. 

129. Signals. — Because of the relatively small area 
covered by most of the operations against a city crowd, 
and the small units normally employed, it is generally 
possible to give all commands orally. Only the pre- 
scribed commands, supplemented by those necessary 
for the special formations of crowd tactics, should be 
used; the men should never, under any circumstances, 
be harangued or made to listen to prolonged explanations 
in the presence of the crowd. It is sometimes necessary, 
however, to use signals, and the men should be care- 
fully trained to respond to them. Officers, platoon leaders 
and guides should be equipped with the appropriate 
whistles. Of the prescribed arm signals, those for For- 
ward, March; Halt; Double time, March; Squads right 
(left), March; Squads right about (or To the rear), March; 
Column right (left), March; Assemble, March; Squad, and 
Platoon, are the most useful. To these may be added the 
following, for the special formations: 

Wedge. Raise both hands to the shoulders, fists 
closed; thrust diagonally forward and outward, repeating 
the movement several times. 

Diagonal. Raise both arms laterally, one 45 degrees 
above the horizontal, the other 45 degrees below it 
(compare position of letter "L" in two-arm semaphore 
code). The arm raised higher than the other will in- 
dicate the guide. 

Deployed Line. Raise both arms laterally until hori- 
zontal (as in signaling As skirmishers, March), but bring 



96 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 






the hands back to the shoulders and then thrust laterally 
again. Repeat several times. To announce the guide, 
hold the arm on the side of the guide steady, executing 
the movement of the hand to and from the shoulder 
with the other arm. 

Section. Extend the arm horizontally toward the 
section leader; swing the hand from side to side from 
the wrist. 

Reenforce. Same as Double time, March. 

Company commanders and platoon leaders may find 
it expedient for signaling at night to equip themselves 
with small pocket flash lights. 

130. Precision of Movement. — In crowd tactics the 
small unit — squad, section and platoon — is all-important; 
conditions are rarely such that whole companies can be 
long held together for use in a single field. For this 
reason it is essential that the lieutenants, sergeants and 
squad leaders should be real leaders, possessing the con- 
fidence of their men and capable of handling them to the 
best possible advantage. They should be able to give 
their commands with decision and vigor, and in the 
field should never consult with their men as to the proper 
course of action. Every movement, when in face of a 
crowd, should be executed with precision and energy, 
and only the prescribed movements, in which the men 
have been trained, should be employed. The small units 
will follow their commanders far better in an emergency 
if they have had frequent drill under them, detached 
from the rest of their company. Nothing encourages a 
crowd more than to see a squad or section in which the 



TACTICS 97 

discipline has broken down, and which its leader is no 
longer able to handle with clear and simple commands. 
"Get back in line, fellows/ 7 may mean the same thing as 
" Assemble, March," but its effect, both on the crowd 
and on the men themselves, is astonishingly different. 

131. Responsibility of Officers. — The officers must 
never permit themselves to forget their responsibilities 
when dealing with a disorderly crowd. This is par- 
ticularly true of the company commanders. Often the 
temptation to "get into the scrap" is so strong as to seem 
almost irresistible, but no officer has a right to put him- 
self in a position whence he cannot control his men. 
If a unit is ordered to charge, the commander's place is, 
of course, at the head of it; at such a time the command 
Follow me has the utmost significance. Ordinarily, 
however, the officer must make up his mind to forego 
any actual contact with the crowd, and post himself 
both where he can direct the work of his men and where 
he can readily be communicated with by his superiors. 
The officer who is carried away by his ardor, and plunges 
into the crowd so as to be separated from his men, 
thereby shows that his proper place is in the ranks. 

132. Application of Crowd Tactics. — The foregoing 
paragraphs (101-131) have outlined what may be called 
the machinery of crowd tactics; they embody the gen- 
eral principles, the application of which will vary widely 
according to conditions. We may now assume an actual 
situation, and see how this machinery may be set in 
motion and employed by the commander of a local de- 
fense unit. 



98 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 

133. The General Situation. — Suppose that, in a man- 
ufacturing center of considerable size, a strike has been 
declared by the workmen employed in half a dozen 
great textile mills. The action of the workmen has been 
sudden, with the result that large crowds have collected 
on the streets near the mills before anything could be 
done to scatter them. There is in the city a local defense 
battalion of four companies (158 officers and enlisted 
men each). The commanding officer is at once notified 
of the situation by the civil authorities, and is directed 
to mobilize his battalion and take such measures as he 
deems necessary for the maintenance of order. He forth- 
with gets into communication with the adjutant, and 
orders him to summon the entire staff immediately to 
headquarters. He then draws up his plan of action, 
assigning each company to such duty as the nature of 
the situation suggests, and — unless the adjutant has 
already reported for duty — himself telephones to the 
four company commanders. His orders will include a 
brief statement of the situation and information as to the 
immediate mission of each company. 

134. The Mission of the Company. — We will assume 
that the largest crowd of strikers is gathered in front of 
the America mill, which occupies an entire block between 
two broad streets, Washington and Grant, and two 
narrow ones, Fourth and Fifth. The crowd has con- 
gregated mainly on Grant street, filling it so completely 
that the street cars can no longer make their way through, 
and are being re-routed. The mill is in the military dis- 
trict assigned to Company A, and the commanding 



TACTICS 99 

officer's orders to the Company A commander, Captain 
Smith, direct him to mobilize his company and proceed 
at once to disperse the crowd. Captain Smith receives 
the order at 6 p. m., at which time he knows that most 
of his men will be at home. His first step is to formulate 
his plan of action, after which he will set his notification 
system in operation. 

135. The Point of Mobilization. — His first problem 
is that of approaching the crowd. He has clearly no 
time to lose; therefore he cannot afford to mobilize his 
company at some distant point, and transport it thence 
as a unit to the scene of action. On the other hand, 
he cannot risk letting his men arrive at or near the mill 
in small groups. The mill being in his district, he is 
thoroughly familiar with the locality; and as there is a 
small park about seven blocks from the mill, with two 
or three large garages adjoining it, he selects this park 
as the point of mobilization. His telephoned orders to 
his two lieutenants and the first sergeant (see Paragraph 
21) will, therefore, run as follows: 

" A general strike of textile workers has begun, with a 
big crowd on Grant Street at the America mill. Com- 
pany A will mobilize at once at Grant Park. Men will 
bring all arms, and equipment for one night. In coming 
to Grant Park they will avoid the vicinity of the mill." 

136. The Immediate Situation. — Captain Smith next 
calls up the mill office, and learns that the crowd is very 
disorderly, that stones have been thrown through win- 
dows, and that a few operatives leaving the mill have 
been roughly handled, but that no shots have been fired. 



::•: 



MA>XAL FOH LOCAL DEFEI >Z 



He then gets into his uniform, and as soon as the member 
of his company assigned to drive him reports, he hastens 
to Grant Park. Soon Lis men begin to come in. and 
*mmg them a few, not regular members of the company . 
in civilian clothes (see Paragraph 77 9 : me of these he 
sends down to the scene of disorder, where t hey will 
attract no attention, with miders to notify him at mice 
c on c e r nin g conditions these. As soon as he has received 
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tion, his own location, the number of men already 
mobilized . and slating where he can be reached by tel- 



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tain Smith receive! 
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leaves a detail at one of the G 
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squad is thrown f orward i 

sidewalk, alongside of his c 



shape half an hoar after Cap- 
rst order — about half his corn- 
rest are coming in rapidly. 
?rowd- — The situation at the 
1 immediate action. Captain 
re. to take his half company 
can cover the seven blocks by 
trucks, or by marching. The 
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the Grant Park garages, and 
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TACTICS 101 

riflemen, watching the opposite windows and housetops, 
and covering each street crossing. The advance is made 
at quick time, in order to save the men. 

138. The First Contact. — As Captain Smith comes 
down Grant Street, he sees the turbulent crowd filling 
the whole width of the street ahead of him. His orders 
are specific: to disperse it. With his half company, he 
has not enough men for the task, yet, having come 
within sight of the crowd, he cannot afford to appear to 
hesitate. Disorderly as the gathering is, nothing is 
happening that would in any way justify an order to 
open fire; nine-tenths of the crowd are clearly excited 
spectators rather than violent rioters. The situation 
must be handled by crowd, not mob, tactics. 

139. The Flank of the Crowd.— The main gate of the 
factory is in the middle of the Grant Street side, and this 
fact suggests a plan of action. It is true of crowd tactics, 
as of any other, that the enemy's weakest points are his 
flanks, but the flanks of a crowd are determined, not by 
the direction in which it happens to be facing or march- 
ing, but by its shape. This is true because a crowd 
changes direction without the slightest difficulty, by 
merely facing to the right or left. Ordinarily a street 
crowd has two short sides and two long ones. No matter 
how it may be facing, the short sides are far stronger 
than the long ones, partly because pressure against 
either one of them is resisted by the entire length of the 
crowd, and partly because, if the crowd starts to move 
in a body, it will almost always do so with one or other of 
its short sides in advance. A crowd not in solid motion, 



102 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 

therefore, can hardly be said to have any rear at all; it 
has two potential heads — the two short sides — and two 
flanks. The fact that it may be — and generally is — 
facing to one of these flanks does not alter the tactical 
situation, except to suggest that the flank away from 
which it is facing is the best point of attack. In the case 
of the hypothetical crowd on Grant Street in front of 
the America mill, the flanks are the two long sides par- 
allel to the front of the mill, the main gate just mentioned 
being opposite the center of one flank. If there were an 
alley opposite this gate, and exposing the center of the 
crowd's other flank, this would be the ideal place for an 
attack; but as no such alley exists, Captain Smith deter- 
mines to make use of the mill gate. 

140. Getting under Cover. — Accordingly, without 
halting, he marches his half company down Grant Street 
to the corner of Fourth, changes direction and swings up 
Fourth Street, his deployed leading squad, together with 
his flanking riflemen, serving as a screen at the turn. 
The mill has a smaller entrance on Fourth Street, in 
front of which he halts his men, has the door thrown 
open, and marches in with five of his eight squads. His 
riflemen are posted as sentries round the Fourth Street 
door, with two squads drawn up in line, assembled, at 
right angles across the sidewalk and into the street. 
The effect of all this on the crowd is at once perceptible. 
It is not in direct contact with the guards on Fourth 
Street, but it observes them; it knows that a considerable 
body of troops has entered the factory, where it is 
screened from observation, and can prepare unobserved 



TACTICS 103 

for its next move. Already a few of the more prudent 
members of the crowd are beginning to slink quietly 
away, but the general clamor rather increases than grows 
less. 

141. Preliminary Orders and Reports. — Once inside 
the mill, Captain Smith's first act is to take possession of 
the telephone branch exchange, to which he assigns a 
noncommissioned officer. He directs the lieutenant who 
is with him to call up the other lieutenant, who has re- 
mained at the garage adjoining Grant Park, and tell him 
to send the trucks with the remaining men of the com- 
pany, as fast as they turn up, to the Fourth Street 
entrance to the mill. He orders the mess sergeant to see 
that hot coffee and sandwiches, and any further food 
readily procurable, are on hand at the mill within an hour; 
if the mill has a kitchen and lunch room for its employees, 
this detail will be easily cared for. He orders the supply 
sergeant to secure as many cots as possible; the com- 
pany trucks can later be used to bring these to the mill. 
He himself telephones to headquarters, reporting that 
he is safely inside the mill, and that he plans to attack 
the crowd outside within 15 or 20 minutes. He states 
that conditions are not as yet dangerous, but recommends 
that a full equipment of rifles, bayonets and ammunition 
from the battalion reserve supply be loaded on a power- 
ful truck, and held under guard at headquarters, ready 
to be sent to him at a moment's notice. 

142. Arrival of Reinforcements. — Meanwhile a motor 
truck comes at full speed down Grant Street and turns 
the corner into Fourth. Beside the driver are two uni- 



104 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 

formed men armed with shotguns. The truck stops, 
and men spring down from it, a couple of dozen of them, 
and rapidly form in close order. The crowd might per- 
haps have tried to interfere, but the operation is covered 
by the two squads in line outside the Fourth Street door, 
and by the sentries armed with rifles. The newcomers 
enter the factory. Soon another truck comes up and 
unloads; then the first, which has gone back to Grant 
Park, returns with still more men. The crowd is a good 
deal impressed; it has no way of knowing when this 
stream of reinforcements will end, and the rapidity of 
the movements is disconcerting. Above all, the men are 
disappearing into the mill as fast as they arrive; the crowd 
knows that something startling is likely to happen before 
long, but, because of its inability to see the troops inside 
the mill, it cannot possibly figure out just what form that 
something will assume. 

143. The Plan of Action. — When Captain Smith has 
fourteen squads mobilized, he determines to act at once. 
He therefore withdraws his guards from outside the 
Fourth Street door, notifying the Grant Park garage to 
hold all further late comers there pending subsequent 
orders. He calls together his platoon and section leaders, 
and, with paper and pencil, explains to them carefully 
his plan of action. While he would prefer, if possible, 
to scatter the entire crowd at one blow, he decides that 
he has not men enough to attempt this, and will there- 
fore split the crowd into two sections, dispersing one sec- 
tion at a time. Having satisfied himself that every 
platoon and section leader understands just what is 



TACTICS 105 

expected of him, he forms the company in column of 
squads, the head close to the main gate of the mill, orders 
the gate to be thrown open, and commands, Forward, 

DOUBLE TIME, March. 

144. The Wedge Attack.— The first squad takes the 
wedge formation as it clears the gate, and, supported by 



Building Line 



^l 



10\ \III 



/! 

IV <!| 



12 13 u t 



Interior of Mill 

U 13 12 U 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 § ' { 

jirninniiPTiJjiiTM 

- iv lii ii 



Fig. 7. — Clearing a Street in Front of a Mill. First Phase of the 
Operations Described in Paragraphs 144-147. (The dotted 
areas are those occupied by the crowd.) 

the second squad, likewise in wedge formation, in order 
to be able to reenforce instantly, drives squarely across 
the street to the opposite building line. The crowd, 
taken by surprise, splits, and a clear path is opened. 
Having crossed the street, the two squads execute To the 
Rear, March, and then halt and assemble in close order 
(see Figure 7). 



106 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 

145. The Holding Line. — The second section, follow- 
ing close on the heels of the first, comes out in column 
of squads, at the double. As it reaches the middle of the 
street it executes Squads right, March, and then De- 
ploy, guide center, March, halting as the deployment is 
completed. Its mission is to hold in check the half of 
the crowd to the right of the path cut by the first section. 
The first section, as it re-forms in close order, becomes 
the support for the deployed second section (see Figure 7). 

146. The Wedge-and-Diagonals. — The second platoon 
(four squads), comprising the third and fourth sections, 
follows the second section out through the gate, likewise 
at the double. Its first squad advances to the opposite 
sidewalk, where its leader commands, Left turn, March, 
and then, Diagonal, guide right, March. Follow me. 
The second and third squads of the platoon execute 
Squads left in the middle of the street, and then form a 
section wedge; the fourth squad executes Left turn on 
the nearer sidewalk, and then Diagonal, guide left. The 
entire formation plunges into the crowd at top speed, 
using its riot sticks freely when resistance is encountered, 
but depending primarily on its own momentum. The 
third platoon (three squads) emerges on the heels of the 
second, executes Squads left, and follows the wedge and 
diagonals up the street in support. Finally, the fourth 
platoon (three squads), including the rifle and shotgun 
men, comes out and halts in line near the mill gate, to 
be held there as the reserve (see Figure 7). 

147. The Return Attack. — The suddenness and swift- 
ness of the movement have caught the crowd utterly by 



TACTICS 



107 



surprise; the wedge and diagonals drive up Grant Street 
to the corner of Fourth, the supports cleaning up any 
troublesome members of the crowd who may be left be- 
hind. At the corner the second platoon halts and its first 
two squads deploy across the street; its third and fourth 
squads assemble in support behind the deployed line. 
The third platoon executes Squads right about; its first 



Building Line 






II 



IV* 




=* (= 



im 



Interior of Mill 



Fig. 8. — Clearing a Street in Front of a Mill. Second Phase 
of the Operations Described in Paragraphs 144-147. (The 
dotted areas are those occupied by the crowd.) 

and second squads form section wedge in the roadway, 
while its third forms a diagonal (guide right) on the side- 
walk adjoining the mill; and the whole platoon charges 
down the street at the half of the crowd not yet attacked. 
The deployed line holding this part of the crowd in check 
(the second section, with the first section in support) 
assembles on the far sidewalk in time to clear the road 



108 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 

for the charging wedge; one squad forms a diagonal 
(guide left) on the far sidewalk, and joins in the advance, 
while the other three squads form the support, advancing 
behind the wedge and diagonals in close order. Arriving 
at the corner of Fifth Street, two squads are deployed 
across Grant Street, with two more in support, and the 
rest of the company (six squads) not used for holding the 
crowds back at the two corners is assembled in line in 
front of the mill gate (see Figure 8). 

148. Final Reinforcements. — Captain Smith now 
sends a man to telephone to the garage at Grant Park, 
directing that the remaining two squads (less half a 
dozen men armed with shotguns to remain on guard over 
the automobiles left in the garages) be brought to the mill 
by motor truck, the driver to avoid Grant Street, and 
reach the Fourth Street door by another route. When the 
truck appears, two squads are sent to cover the entrance 
to the mill. The company now has its full sixteen squads 
mobilized, and already the first victory has been won 
without bloodshed: the crowd has been driven from the 
front of the mill. 

149. Advancing the Defensive Lines. — The next step 
is to advance the lines across the street intersections, so 
that the four streets adjoining the mill — Washington, 
Grant, Fourth and Fifth — may be kept clear. Captain 
Smith takes the corners one by one, using section wedges 
for each advance. Since the crowd, though split in two, 
and considerably reduced by desertion, is still mainly 
on Grant Street, he uses two squads for the deployed line 
across this street, 50 yards or so beyond the corner of 



i 



TACTICS 109 

Fourth, and another two squads across it an equal dis- 
tance below the corner of Fifth. A squad holds Fourth 
Street below the corner of Grant, and another holds Fifth 
in the same way; a single squad in support at each inter- 
section backs up the deployed lines. This accounts for 
eight squads. There has been little or no trouble along 
Washington Street, so a couple of squads patrolling the 
intersections of Fourth and Fifth with Washington will 
suffice to keep this section clear. The mill is now effec- 
tually isolated from the crowd at all points. 

150. The First Patrols. — It is next desirable to open 
Grant Street to street car and other traffic. The chances 
are that the crowd will be sufficiently disheartened to 
make this relatively simple; a section wedge from the 
reserve, with a squad in support, will suffice to drive the 
crowd to the sidewalks. From this point on a few motor 
patrols will prove useful; half a dozen cars running rapidly 
up and down the street the length of the three or four 
blocks chiefly affected, and keeping close to the curbs, 
will maintain the roadway open, and will probably soon 
enable Captain Smith to withdraw a good half of his 
men deployed in defensive positions. He is now in a 
situation where he can afford to await developments; 
if the motor patrols are proving effective, he can increase 
their number and leave to them the main part of the 
work, holding a strong reserve assembled outside the 
main gate of the mill, one squad at the intersection of 
Grant and Fourth Streets, and another at Grant and 
Fifth. He will thus have perhaps four squads engaged 
in motor patrolling, four in the reserve, two as sentry 



110 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 

squads at the main intersections, and one more doing 
sentry duty about the mill. This will give his remaining 
five squads a chance to get something to eat (see Par- 
agraph 141), after which they can relieve squads on duty, 
and the entire company can finally be fed. 

151. The Last of the Crowd. — With the situation thus 
well in hand, Captain Smith makes a full report to head- 
quarters, and receives his orders regarding his subsequent 
actions. If he is watchful, the crowd is not likely to 
assemble again; every threatening gathering will be 
immediately dispersed by a motor patrol, squad wedge 
or section wedge. When all the men have eaten, there 
will be five squads available as foot patrols, and these, 
in addition to the motor patrols, should be able to keep 
the situation at all times well under control. Deprived of 
any opportunity to unite or to make serious trouble, the 
crowd, or what is left of it, is more than likely to dwindle 
away, leaving Captain Smith free by 10 or 11 o'clock to 
make his dispositions for the night. These dispositions 
will, of course, depend on how the general strike situation 
has developed, but presumably the whole of Company A 
will sleep at the mill, and maintain through the night 
three or- four motor patrols in addition to the necessary 
guards. 

152. Summary of Principles. — It is not to be assumed 
that the method of handling a street crowd outlined in 
the foregoing paragraphs (133-151) is in any sense a 
standard one; conditions vary so widely that it is im- 
possible to draw up any rules for the application of crowd 
tactics which will cover every case. The hypothetical 



TACTICS 111 

example, however, has brought out certain principles 
which may be accepted as fundamental. These prin- 
ciples, stated in the form of generalizations, are enu- 
merated in the following paragraphs (153-168). 

153. Mobilization. — Do not mobilize at the point of 
danger, unless you are sure of reaching it well in advance 
of the crowd. On the other hand, mobilize as near it as 
you safely can. 

154. Information. — Do not neglect to secure full in- 
formation as to the size, temper and formation of a 
crowd before you approach it. This information can best 
be secured through men out of uniform but attached to 
the local defense unit. Do not place too much reliance 
on the reports of chance observers; they may be seeking 
to mislead you, or they may be suffering more or less 
from hysteria. 

155. Automobiles. — Be sure that your chosen mobiliza- 
tion point provides adequate means for sheltering your 
company's automobiles, and never leave these auto- 
mobiles without a guard. 

156. Advance. — Do not approach a disorderly crowd 
until you have enough men in hand to accomplish some- 
thing, but do not wait for every man to report, if the 
situation is serious. Always make full provision for 
bringing up the late comers. 

157. Detraining. — In approaching a disorderly crowd, 
do not use automobiles or motor trucks, much less street 
cars, if it involves detraining without protection. Once 
you have enough men on the scene of action to cover 
the operation, the use of automobiles and trucks, par- 



112 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 






ticularly the latter, for bringing up reinforcements is 
most effective. 

158. Security. — When marching in the vicinity of a 
crowd, always look to the security of the column. It 
should be preceded by an advance guard, and its flanks 
should be well covered, preferably by riflemen. 

159. Decision. — When you come close to a crowd, do 
something decisive at once. Never halt your command 
and thereby give the appearance of indecision. If you 
cannot attack at once, occupy some position which may 
be used as a base for attack later. In any event, keep 
your men moving. Conversely, keep under cover until 
you are ready to strike. 

160. Surprise. — Surprise is of great value in attacking 
a crowd. If you can strike at it from an unexpected angle, 
or at an unexpected moment, your task will be made 
much easier. In your preliminary survey of the tactical 
situation, always consider whether a surprise attack is 
possible. 

161. Force. — Make your first blow a hard one, using 
your full force, except for the necessary reserves. Do not 
encourage the crowd by experimental attacks. 

162. Flanks. — Remember that the flanks of a street 
crowd are always its long sides, whatever way it may be 
facing. If you attack on one of the short sides, you will 
have to push against the whole mass of the crowd; if 
you attack on a long side, you will encounter far less resist- 
ance, and often can split the crowd in two or more parts. 

163. Division. — Do not attempt more than you can 
thoroughly accomplish with the force you have in hand, 



TACTICS 113 

making full allowance for the requisite supports and re- 
serves. If the crowd is too large to be dealt with as a 
whole, split it into two or more parts, and disperse the 
parts separately. 

164. Plan. — Formulate your plan of action before you 
strike, see that your subordinates clearly understand it, 
and then stick to it. 

165. Reports. — Keep in close touch with headquarters, 
and see that your subordinates on detached duty keep 
in close touch with you. Often a report that everything 
is quiet is exactly the most useful information that can 
be sent in. 

166. Position. — Whenever possible, split a crowd so 
that its two or more sections cannot cooperate, while 
your own unit has the great advantage of working on 
interior lines. In extending these lines, be careful not 
to lose the strength which the interior position affords. 

167. Patrols. — When a crowd is once definitely broken, 
use patrols, and particularly motor patrols, extensively 
to keep the streets open, and direct them to break up 
immediately any threatening groups which may form. 

168. Concentration. — Never scatter your forces widely, 
but hold them together. When many patrols are out, 
be sure you have a strong reserve, with means for its 
rapid transportation, in case of trouble. Do not send 
your men out singly or in groups of two or three to guard 
street cars, trucks, freight or passenger cars, but use motor 
patrols of at least four men for this service. A man on a 
street car or passenger car is in a peculiarly poor position 
to protect either it or himself. 



114 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 

169. Holding a Crowd in Check. — It is often sufficient 
to hold a crowd in check, without immediately dispersing 
it. In such a case, get it out of the roadway, where it can 
block traffic, and back on the sidewalk, using a deployed 
line with supports, or motor patrols, or both, to hold it 
there. In the event of disorder on the sidewalk, clear it 
with a strong diagonal, using a deployed line or a second 
diagonal to clean up the street after it. 

170. Reserves with Firearms. — Always prepare for 
mob violence, and show the crowd that you are ready for 
it, by having your rifle and shotgun men where they can 
be used instantly. If the situation looks serious, arrange 
for a supply of rifles, bayonets and ammunition, to be 
held ready for instant delivery. 

171. Crowd in Open Space. — If the crowd has formed, 
not in the streets, but in an open space, such as a park, 
freight yard, common, etc., the tactics to be employed 
will depend largely on the nature of the ground. In every 
case, however, the local defense unit commander should 
select a base, and drive the crowd away from it. A crowd 
gathered in an open space is generally far less compact 
than one of the same size collected in a street; as a result 
deployment can be at greater intervals, and, the pressure 
at any given point being less, the deployed line can be 
used far more freely than in the street. In any open 
space, particular attention should be paid to such features 
as detached houses, sheds, freight cars on sidings, etc., 
which may afford shelter and support to sections of the 
crowd. In general, if the crowd in an open space is dense, 
it is better to split it and disperse it piecemeal; if it is not 






TACTICS 115 

compact, it is better to sweep it in one direction, thereby 
disposing of the whole crowd at once. 

172. Protecting Flanks and Rear. — In operating 
against a crowd in any open space, particular attention 
must be paid to the security of the flanks and rear. In 
city streets a crowd has little facility of movement, but 
in an open space parts of it can move about freely. The 
supports of an advancing line can normally take care of 
the rear, but the flanks should be covered by special 
flank guards. Shotgun men may profitably be used with 
the flank guards, for if a flank attack develops at all, 
it is likely to be of so determined and vicious a nature 
as to justify an order to open fire. 

173. The Order to Fire. — With regard to opening 
fire, the men of a local defense unit should be instructed 
that the revolver or pistol is the only weapon they are 
authorized to discharge without the express order of an 
officer. The revolver or pistol may be discharged only 
in a case of urgent necessit}^, when there is immediate 
personal danger. It must always be aimed at a definite 
person, never discharged blindly into a crowd. Sentries 
and patrols will receive special orders from their officers 
with regard to the use of rifles and shotguns. Sharp- 
shooters will, as a rule, receive their special orders direct 
from the company commander. No officer will give his 
men the order to fire on a crowd unless the unit has been 
attacked, and presumably not unless members of the 
crowd have begun to shoot. 

174* Use of Fire Hose. — A thoroughly disorderly 
street crowd can sometimes be disposed of by the use of 



116 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 

fire hose. It is well for the local defense unit commander 
to make arrangements with the fire department whereby, 
at need, an engine and hose cart can be sent to the scene 
of action. If this method is used, it is the duty of the 
local defense unit to provide full protection for the fire- 
men, and also to guard the entire length of the hose, to 
prevent its being cut. The best point of attack for fire 
hose is like that for attack by troops: the middle of one 
of the long sides of a street crowd. The danger of this 
method is that it may lead to a counter-attack on the 
fire engines and firemen, which can be beaten off only 
with shotguns or pistols, thus producing bloodshed which 
might have been avoided. 

175. The Moment for Mob Tactics. — Paragraphs 173 
and 174 have brought the disorderly crowd to the border 
line of the mob. There is no absolute rule whereby the 
local defense unit commander can tell when the ef- 
ficacy of crowd tactics is at an end, and the need for mob 
tactics begins; but in general the use of firearms against 
the troops will be the determining factor. Practically 
every disorderly assembly that has not reached the 
shooting stage is a crowd, not a mob, and should be dealt 
with by crowd tactics. Once the bullets begin to fly, 
however, the further maintenance of crowd tactics is 
nothing short of a criminal risk of life. Of course, a single 
shot does not make a mob; such a case is the proper 
opportunity for a sharpshooter. It is when the com- 
manding officer sees that many of the men facing him 
have firearms, and are ready to use them, that the time 
for mob tactics has arrived. 



TACTICS 117 

176. Mob Fire Tactics. — With mob tactics the wedge 
and diagonal pass into uselessness, and the deployed line 
is the tactical basis. Many of the general provisions of 
the preceding paragraphs, however, still apply; the chief 
differences are in the formations employed and the 
methods of striking. Mob tactics differ from crowd 
tactics also in this, that a battle with a mob is almost sure 
to be short, sharp and decisive, whereas it may take a 
considerable time to dispose of a crowd. Unless a mob 
has thrown up barricades, or fortified itself inside a 
building or group of buildings, a few volleys are likely 
to crush it. 

177. The Attack on a Mob. — A mob should always be 
attacked, if possible, on two sides at once. An attack 
from one side only has the effect of merely crushing that 
front, without breaking the mass of the mob. On the 
other hand, an attack from three sides provides too little 
opportunity to get away for those who should be allowed 
to escape. Moreover, an attack from three sides in- 
volves the danger of exposing men to fire from their 
own comrades. If a street mob has formed before the 
local defense unit reaches the ground, it should be ap- 
proached by parallel streets, so that, when one platoon 
or company halts and deploys, the other can proceed 
till it can turn into a cross street, and so attack the mob 
in flank. If the mob has formed because of the failure 
of applied crowd tactics, the commander should at once 
endeavor to send a flanking force from his unit to work 
round to a position whence it can deliver a flanking 
attack. 



118 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 

178. Weapons for Mob Work. — The shotgun is the 
most effective weapon in the hands of a local defense unit 
for dealing with a mob. Its effective range is consider- 
ably greater than that of the revolver, the usual weapon 
of the mob, and its spreading discharge covers a wide 
target. The service rifle, except in the hands of exceed- 
ingly well-trained men, is far too dangerous for city work. 
Moreover, it is neither necessary nor desirable to kill 
many members of a mob; a wounded man is just as dis- 
couraging to his fellows, for the time being, as a dead 
one. As for the bayonet, it looks well, but it involves 
something of the element of bluff which it is most im- 
portant to avoid. If a bayonet charge is pushed home, 
the casualties will be as numerous and as severe as if 
three or four volleys had been fired, not to mention the 
fact that some of the charging men are pretty sure to be 
brought down by pistol shots. If the charge is not pushed 
home, the bayonets will have been fixed merely for effect. 
Army Regulations state that "as a general rule the bay- 
onet alone should be used against mixed crowds in the 
first stage of a revolt"." This may be true in the case of 
regular troops, although so competent an authority as 
Major Moss disputes it ("Officers' Manual," Paragraph 
574), but the case of a local defense unit is by no means 
parallel. The "first stage" referred to has presumably 
been covered by crowd tactics, with the riot stick playing 
the part assigned to the bayonet. The shotgun has not 
been until recently an Army weapon, but it can be placed 
in the hands of the members of a local defense unit with 
perfect propriety, and against a mob it is likely to accom- 



TACTICS 119 

plish far more than either the bayonet or the rifle. The 
pistol or revolver as an offensive weapon against a mob 
is, of course, an absurdity. 

179. Getting it Over Quickly. — The object of the local 
defense unit commander in dealing with a mob should 
be to settle the affair with the minimum of delay. He 
should permit no desultory shooting; the firing should 
be by volley, and at his command only. Above all, he 
should never try to deceive the mob as to his intentions 
by threatening to fire and then withholding the order, 
or by firing over the heads of the mob. Once he has made 
up his mind to employ mob tactics, he should lose no 
time in deploying his men, calling on the mob to disperse, 
and, if his order is not promptly obeyed, giving the 
command to fire. 

180. Books of Reference. — The subject of mob tactics 
differs from that of crowd tactics in having been exten- 
sively and authoritatively discussed by various writers 
on military affairs. Since the province of the present 
manual is primarily to consider only those features of 
local defense work which have not been fully covered 
elsewhere, no attempt is here made to go into detail 
regarding the special features of mob tactics. Instead, 
the reader is referred to Major James A. Moss's "Riot 
Duty" (essentially a reprint of Chapter XXVIII of his 
" Officers' Manual"), to Chapter XIV of Colonel Lincoln 
C. Andrews' " Fundamentals of Military Service," to 
General Albert Ordway's " Street Riot Duty," and to 
Paragraph 489 of the " Regulations for the Army of the 
United States." Major Moss's "Riot Duty," a 32-page 



120 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 

pamphlet, is particularly valuable. In consulting these 
books, however, it must always be remembered that the 
writers make no distinction between crowd and mob 
tactics, and that, for one occasion in the city where such 
mob tactics as they describe are actually necessary, 
there are probably fifty wherein crowd tactics, promptly 
and effectively employed, are sufficient to forestall the 
need for more violent measures. 

181. Service in Open Country. — When the local de- 
fense unit is designed for service, either occasionally or 
altogether, in the open country outside of towns and 
cities, then the situation is radically changed. The riot 
stick, the wedge and the diagonal become nearly useless, 
and the highly developed mobilization system is of rel- 
atively little importance. The unit will take the field 
like any other military unit, and its proper weapon is 
the service rifle, although shotguns are often useful, 
and the unit should endeavor to have a reserve sup- 
ply of them. The tactics to be used are those of 
the Infantry Drill and Field Service Regulations, 
and these should be the text-books most carefully 
studied. 

182. Scout Duty. — Outside of cities and towns, how- 
ever, the local defense unit will as a rule have little to do. 
Its work will be confined to small groups — a squad or 
section sent out to round up a criminal, arrest a suspect 
or investigate a crime. Thus the chief need for instruc- 
tion will be in the technique of scouting, for which Colonel 
W. H. Waldron's " Scouting and Patrolling" is partic- 
ularly to be recommended. If serious trouble develops, 



TACTICS 121 

it is almost sure to be in a city or town, a village perhaps, 
where men can readily congregate. Once a crowd 
gathers, whether it be in a mining village or a metropolis, 
the general principles of crowd and mob tactics prevail; 
a pitched battle between large groups in the open coun- 
try is so remote a possibility that the normal local de- 
fense unit need waste little time in preparing for it. 
Preparation for service in the open country should, rather, 
be in the nature of training in the special duties and 
methods of army scouts. 

183. Mounted Men. — It is more than possible, never- 
theless, that the real future of the local defense unit, 
particularly after the war is at an end, lies in just this 
sort of work. The need for efficient state constabularies 
has been growing steadily more apparent, and the Penn- 
sylvania State Constabulary and, more recently, the 
New York State Troopers, have demonstrated the way 
in which such organizations should be developed. For 
them, as presumably for all permanent units designed 
to protect large areas, the horse is an absolute essential; 
this form of local or home defense is first of all a cavalry 
problem. The troopers may be, and normally should 
be, supported by reserve forces of both infantry and 
artillery; but in the open country, where the automobile 
is often at a serious disadvantage, and sometimes cannot 
be used at all, the effectiveness of the mounted man re- 
mains supreme. The volunteer local defense unit is 
practically incapable of maintaining any sort of an 
efficient cavalry force, partly because of the difficulty 
and cost of securing suitable horses, and partly because a 



122 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 

horse not fully trained to this particular kind of work is 
very much worse than no horse at all. In crowd or mob 
duty the risk run by a few scattered mounted men is all 
out of proportion to the good they can do, and if their 
horses are improperly trained they are a menace to every 
one. No more effective way of dispersing a thoroughly 
disorderly crowd has ever been discovered than a charge 
of cavalry or mounted police, but the numbers must be 
considerable and the training of both men and horses 
excellent. In general, unless the local defense unit is in a 
position to put in the field a carefully trained mounted 
unit of not less than 50 men, it should leave the matter 
entirely alone, and trust to its motor patrols for much 
of the work that would, under ideal conditions, be done 
by mounted men. 

184. Guarding Property. — Except for scouting and 
police duty, on which small units only are likely to be 
sent, the most important work of any local defense or- 
ganization outside of towns and cities will presumably 
be the guarding of property. If a mine, mill, aqueduct, 
dam, power station, bridge or any similar property is 
threatened, the local defense unit may properly be en- 
trusted with its protection. When a long stretch is to 
be covered — as when guarding a railway or power line, 
an aqueduct or an important road — motor patrols gen- 
erally supply the most effective means of affording pro- 
tection, with pickets or even stronger units at command- 
ing positions. Flat cars may often be used to carry 
strong patrols over stretches of track to be guarded; the 
car carrying the troops, or, better still, the engine, should 




■3 03 

2 o 



TACTICS 123 

always be preceded by an empty car, in case explosives 
should be put on the tracks. The flat car expedient is 
to be recommended only in case the stretch of track is 
excessively long, or is not paralleled most of the distance 
by a highway. Whenever possible, the guards should 
keep near the track, aqueduct, etc., rather than actually 
on it. The same is true of a bridge; if the abutments and 
piers are properly guarded, a patrol on the bridge itself 
will have little to do. 

185. Guarding Buildings. — If the property to be 
guarded consists of a house, enclosure or group of houses, 
the general principles of interior tactics (see Paragraph 
69) obtain, whether the property is in the heart of a 
crowded city or isolated in the country. The first of 
these principles is that the proper place to guard a 
building or group of buildings is on the outside; an inte- 
rior defense should be resorted to only in the gravest 
emergencies, when outside positions are no longer tenable. 
If possible, a cleared area should be established all 
round the property, with outposts and sentries to prevent 
all unauthorized persons from approaching too close. 
In the city the block in which the property is situated 
should be thus isolated (see Paragraph 149); in open 
country the patrol lines should be so far advanced as to 
keep intruders at least out of pistol range. The prin- 
ciples governing the establishment of outposts and 
patrols around property in open country are essentially 
the same as those covering camp outposts (Infantry 
Drill Regulations, Paragraphs 678-707; Field Service 
Regulations, Paragraphs 60-83). 



124 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 

186. Interior Defense. — The defense of a building from 
the inside should be regarded purely as a temporary- 
expedient, resorted to either because of the overwhelming 
strength of the assailants or as a preliminary to estab- 
lishing exterior guards and a cleared area. The defenders 
should always plan to seize the first opportunity for a 
determined counter-attack. They should pay particular 
attention to any adjoining or neighboring buildings high 
enough to command the property to be guarded; if 
there is any possibility of explosives or stones being 
thrown from the roofs or upper windows of these on the 
defenders, they should be included within the guarded 
area. When a building or enclosure must be defended 
from within, the doors and windows, particularly on the 
ground floor, should be strongly barricaded, except that 
one or two doors should be left available for egress in the 
event of a counter-attack. Loopholes should be made 
at commanding points, care being taken to see that they 
are not so low that they can be used from outside. The 
object of the defenders should be to see that no point 
close to the walls is sheltered from fire. Sharpshooters on 
the roof, particularly if there is a sheltering cornice or par- 
apet, can do much to hold off an attack. In case there 
is any danger of the supply of water, electric current or 
gas being cut off, the defenders should arrange for a 
reserve supply of water, in tanks or pails, and should 
have plenty of candles or lamps. They should likewise 
have enough food to enable them to stand a siege of 
two or three days. Fire extinguishers are an important 
part of the garrison's equipment. 






TACTICS 125 

187. Weapons for Guarding Property. — In all forms of 
defending property, rifles and shotguns are the proper 
weapons of the local defense unit. Exterior guards may 
be armed with riot sticks, but motor patrols, sentries, 
and all troops on garrison duty should be armed for work 
at long range. This type of service involves little ques- 
tion of crowd tactics: the property under guard is to be 
protected either against a mob or, more frequently, 
against small bands of lawbreakers. In either case 
shootingMs justified by any attack or refusal to obey the 
order to halt. 

188. Attacking a Building. — When the situation is 
reversed, and the problem is to enter a building, the task 
of the local defense unit is exceedingly difficult and dan- 
gerous. If the building is strongly enough built to be 
impervious to rifle bullets, and the occupants are known 
to be armed, the case is one for a three-inch field piece. 
The wise procedure for a local defense unit is to surround 
the building, so as to prevent the occupants from escaping 
or securing supplies, and then wait for the civil author- 
ities to secure the aid of the nearest battery of field 
artillery. In the city, however, even a very solidly 
constructed building can sometimes be successfully 
attacked with rifle fire if the assailants can secure com- 
manding and well screened positions on the roofs of 
neighboring and higher buildings. Cases such as the 
foregoing are rare, but their possibility must always be 
taken into consideration. The situation is thus summed 
up by Major Moss ("Riot Duty," Page 26): "A direct 
attack (on a house) should never be made if it can be 



126 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 

avoided, but if made the interior defenses should first 
be destroyed by artillery fire/' 

189. Attacking an Unfortified House. — It is far more 
likely that the local defense unit will have occasion to 
pursue a single criminal, or a small group of them, into 
a house which has been used as a place of refuge, or to 
make an arrest indoors. In such cases rapidity of attack 
is all-important; once begun, the advance should never 
be allowed to stop. The first step is to surround the 
house, keeping careful watch on every possible- point of 
egress. If the roof can be reached, either from adjoining 
roofs or by ladders, the attack should begin at the top 
and work down. In a large building, the attacking 
party should be careful not to scatter, but should operate 
as a unit. Two or three good axes may prove of great 
value if locked doors are encountered. If the house is 
isolated, or cannot be approached with good cover, 
sharpshooters should protect the advance, watching 
every window from which a shot could be fired. When 
the entrance must be made from below, it is often ad- 
visable for the attacking party not to wait to in- 
vestigate the downstairs rooms, but to proceed at 
once to the attic or roof, and then work down floor by 
floor. 

190. Police and Fire Departments. — The best author- 
ities on the minor forms of interior duty are the members 
of the local police and fire departments. They are 
called on daily to face very similar situations, and they 
are necessarily familiar with every detail of local housing 
conditions. The commander of a local defense unit can- 



TACTICS 127 

not do better than devote a session or two of his officers' 
and noncommissioned officers' schools to these problems 
of interior tactics, and ha the sessions conducted by 
experienced and intelligent police and fire department 
officers. 



V 

DRILL 

191. Physical Training. — The most conspicuous de- 
fect in the training of the usual local defense unit is its 
neglect of the men's physical development. The or- 
dinary business or professional man, even if he plays his 
eighteen holes of golf once or twice a week, is in no con- 
dition to undergo the fatigues and hardships which ac- 
tive service may at any time entail; two blocks of double 
time will leave half the company gasping for breath. 
While many other things are important, one, at least, 
is absolutely essential: the men must be put and kept 
in the best possible physical shape. It is, of course, im- 
possible to prescribe rules whereby a unit drilling one 
or two evenings a week can accomplish this, but certain 
points may be insisted on. (1) Every drill period should 
include setting-up exercises. The company officers, 
under the direction of the staff surgeon, should carefully 
study the Manual of Physical Training, and lay out 
a progressive course of exercises for drill. (2) All drills 
should be conducted, so far as possible, in the open 
air (see Paragraph 38). (3) The officers should formulate 
a program of simple exercises which each man can go 
through daily at home, and should do everything in 
their power to induce their men to practice these exer- 

128 



DRILL 129 

cises regularly. (4) Drill with rifles should have as an 
important feature the rifle exercises which teach men to 
"become accustomed to the weight of the piece and to 
wield it with that 'handiness' so essential to its success- 
ful use." (5) The staff surgeon and hospital sergeants 
attached to the companies should make special efforts 
to advise men individually as to their needs and the best 
ways for them to develop their muscles and strengthen 
themselves generally. If the officers lay sufficient empha- 
sis on the importance of being in good physical condi- 
tion, the men are likely to respond with energy and 
enthusiasm. 

192. Close Order Drill. — Close order drill, as too often 
practiced in local defense units, is both a bore and of 
relatively little value. Men march round and round, 
in an endless repetition of Squads right and Squads left, 
without receiving any immediate and specific instruc- 
tion as to their errors. The whole meaning of close order 
drill is thus lost sight of. The essential feature is to do 
the thing right. The movements, after all, are few and 
simple, and the men will learn them if they are properly 
taught and constantly kept up to the mark. No slackness 
in close order drill should ever be tolerated. The com- 
pany officers should be sure that all their noncommis- 
sioned officers are competent drillmasters — a few vigorous 
sessions of noncommissioned officers' school will accom- 
plish wonders in this respect — and then should see that 
they drill their squads and sections thoroughly. Too 
many company commanders, eager to spend the time 
on company movements, pay far too little attention to 



130 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 

squad drill; or else, not trusting their noncommissioned 
officers, they attempt to teach the School of the Soldier 
to the assembled company. The periods of close order 
drill may be made relatively short, but while they last 
they should be thorough, with absolutely strict discipline. 
The men should be made fully to understand the purpose 
of this sort of drill, and its relation to field service; they 
should be taught that precision, accuracy and smartness 
of drill are absolutely essential to the making of efficient 
field units. If the noncommissioned officers are given 
the proper opportunity to drill their commands, they are 
far more likely to prove real leaders when the critical 
time comes; for this reason, as well as for facility of in- 
dividual instruction, squad and section close order drill 
are of very great importance. 

193. Manual of the Riot Stick. — In addition to the 
Manual of Arms as prescribed in Infantry Drill Regula- 
tions, it is desirable to have some form of manual which 
can be executed with the riot stick when the company is 
assembled. The following manual, prepared by Captain 
Edward Karow, 13th Battalion, M. H. G., is recom- 
mended : 

General Rules: 

Any position in the Manual of the Riot Stick, except 
the Riot Stick Salute, may be assumed from any other 
position in one count, except as indicated in the Present 
Arms for officers. 

To grasp the riot stick, place the right hand through 
the thong so that the loop embraces all four fingers but 
excludes the thumb. For the long grip twist the thumb 



DRILL 131 

twice around both strands of the thong and grasp the 
stick at its lower end or grip. In all positions of the 
Manual the long grip is used. To take the short grip, 
place the right hand in the thong as described above, 
with the thumb outside the loop, then turn the hand so 
as to wrap both strands of the thong around it once, 
and grasp the riot stick at or near the thong hole. This 
position is ordinarily used in actual riot service. 

Position of Carry Arms. 

With the right arm hanging nearly extended, hand by 
the side, elbow back, the grip of the riot stick is held 
between the thumb and the first two fingers of the right 
hand, w T ith the third and fourth fingers back of the 
grip. The riot stick is thus held as though it were a pen. 
The upper end or point of the stick rests against the 
shoulder. 

This is the normal position of the riot stick when stand- 
ing or marching at Attention, unless otherwise ordered. 

1. Order, 2. Arms. 

Drop the point of the riot stick directly to the front, 
point about 6 inches in front of the line of toes, thumb 
extended along the grip and to the front. The stick is in 
a plane perpendicular to the front. 

1. Port, 2. Arms, 

With the right hand throw the riot stick diagonally 
across the body; grasp it smartly with both hands, fingers 
and thumb around the stick; the right palm down at the 
grip; the left palm up at the center; stick sloping to the 
left and crossing opposite the juncture of the neck with 
the left shoulder; right forearm horizontal; left forearm 



132 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 

resting against the body; the stick in a vertical plane 
parallel to the front. 

1. Parade, 2. Rest. 

Drop the point of the riot stick to the front. Take the 
position of Parade Rest as described in the School of the 
Soldier, except that the right hand grasps the grip with 
thumb extended along the left, and the left hand is upper- 
most and rests on the right hand. The stick is in front 
of the center of the body, in a plane perpendicular to the 
front, the point on a line with the left toe. At the 
command Attention, assume the position of Carry 
Arms. 

1. Present, 2. Arms. 

Officers, at the command Present, and enlisted men, 
at the command Arms, raise and carry the riot stick to 
the front. Lower end of the grip at the height of the 
chin and 6 inches in front of the neck; point 6 inches 
farther to the front; the riot stick in a plane perpendicular 
to the front; fingers around the grip, thumb extended 
along the grip and to the right. Officers, at the command 
Arms, lower the riot stick with point in prolongation of 
the right foot; hand by the side; thumb extended along 
the right of the grip. Enlisted men do not execute the 
second position of Present Arms. 

1. Riot Stick, 2. Salute. 

Officers execute the first position of Present Arms. 
Enlisted men take the position of Carry Arms, carry 
the left hand smartly to the riot stick at the height of the 
chest, forearm horizontal, palm of hand down, thumb 
and fingers extended and joined, forefinger touching the 



DRILL 133 

riot stick, and look towards the person saluted. (Two) 
Officers execute the second position of Present Arms. 
Enlisted men drop the left hand by the side, turn head 
and eyes to the front. 

194. The Riot Stick in Service. — All officers and en- 
listed men should have frequent drills in the manage- 
ment of the riot stick, for much of its effectiveness in 
service depends on its proper handling. The best guide 
for this drill is " Single Stick Drill," by W. J. Cromie, 
Instructor in Gymnastics, University of Pennsylvania 
(Spalding Athletic Library). The guards, moulinets 
and cuts therein described and illustrated should be 
thoroughly taught, and then practiced by the men, 
working in pairs. To these movements should be added 
the thrust, a short, sharp jab aimed always at the oppo- 
nent's stomach or ribs, and followed by a very quick 
recovery to the "On Guard" position. When on active 
service, the men should be taught never to threaten a 
cut, as distinct from a thrust, unless they are fully pre- 
pared to deliver it. In cases of unwillingness or stubborn- 
ness rather than actual violence, the thrust is far better 
than the cut. The thrust should never be aimed at the 
opponent's face. It may be delivered with any degree 
of force that circumstances warrant, but the cut, if de- 
livered at all, should be hard. Cuts aimed at the body 
are seldom effective; the proper aiming points are the 
head and — against a man armed with any sort of missile 
or weapon — the wrists. The "thigh cuts" demonstrated 
in Mr. Cromie's handbook may readily be adapted to 
cuts aimed at the wrists. The men should likewise be 



134 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 

trained, by actual practice, in resisting attempts to wrest 
their riot sticks away from them. 

195. Interior Guard Duty. — All officers and enlisted 
men should be drilled, as far as time and opportunity 
permit, in the details of interior guard duty. The men 
should be fully instructed in the ordinary duties of sen- 
tries, and the squad leaders and sergeants should have 
frequent practice in handling guard details. An informal 
guard mount is an excellent feature for every drill, 
particularly if sentries are to be posted to guard the com- 
pany's automobiles; formal guard mount should be held 
often enough to familiarize the officers w T ith their duties 
in connection therewith. 

196. Crowd Tactics. — Drill in the special formations 
pertaining to crowd tactics should be frequent and 
vigorous. The formations themselves (see Paragraphs 
103-120) may be learned in the drill hall, and should all 
be practiced from a halt and from the march at both 
quick and double time. Their uses should, whenever 
possible, be practiced on the streets, in freight yards, 
or in any similar places where they might be used on 
active service. As soon as the men are fairly proficient 
in assuming the formations, actual problems should be 
set before them: a street to clear, an arrest to make, a 
building to guard, and so on. The formations should 
frequently be used against resistance (see Paragraph 121). 

197. Signal Drill. — All officers and enlisted men should 
be drilled in the use of the prescribed arm signals, includ- 
ing those enumerated in Paragraph 129. In addition, 
each company should train as many men as possible in 



DRILL 135 

the use of the General Service (International) and Amer- 
ican Morse codes, and in the two-arm semaphore signal 
system. The prescribed bugle signals (Infantry Drill 
Regulations, Paragraph 41 and Pages 207-208) should 
be frequently employed, and the routine bugle calls 
should be used enough to render all the men thoroughly 
familiar with them. The company mechanics should be 
specially instructed in the installation and use of field 
telegraphs and telephones (see Paragraph 61). 

198. First Aid. — Every officer and enlisted man should 
receive special training in first aid, under the direction 
of the staff surgeon and the hospital sergeants and order- 
lies. The noncommissioned officers, in particular, should 
be required to demonstrate their familiarity with the 
methods of emergency treatment of wounds and injuries. 

199. Rifle Drill. — In addition to the manual of arms, 
and the exercises mentioned in Paragraph 191, drill with 
rifles should include a considerable amount of bayonet 
practice. In this the new method should be used ex- 
clusively, in order that the men may not later have to 
unlearn positions and motions based on the old and now 
discredited principles. As guides to the new method, 
S. F. Mashbir's "Ten Lessons in Bayonet Fighting/' 
the recently issued " Bayonet Training and Practical 
Bayonet Fighting/' and the " Notes on Bayonet Train- 
ing" issued by the Army War College (No. 1, March, 
1917; No. 2, August, 1917) may profitably be used. The 
drill with rifles should likewise include as much of the 
aiming and position work as time permits (Small Arms 
Firing Manual, Paragraphs 13-61). Each man should 



136 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 

make his triangle of sighting (S. A. F. M., Paragraph 27) 
as a preliminary test of his ability to use a rifle at all 
under service conditions. 

200. Rifle and Pistol Practice. — The amount of rifle 
and pistol practice possible will depend on the availability 
of suitable ranges and the quantity of ammunition which 
can be used (see Paragraphs 39 and 51). The essential 
thing is to give every man enough pistol practice so that 
he is really familiar with the use of the weapon on which, 
in an emergency, his life may depend. Pistol practice 
should be conducted under the close supervision of the 
company officers, and thorough instruction in the proper 
method of holding and aiming the weapon should be 
given. If a rifle gallery and suitable ammunition (re- 
duced charges) are available, the company riflemen (see 
Paragraph 51) should have frequent practice, hfter 
allowing for which as many as possible of the other men 
should be given gallery rifle training. The rifle and shot- 
gun men should be given special drills in the open, with 
particular reference to the selection of good fire positions 
and the use of cover. 

201. Twofold Function of Drill. — It should never be 
forgotten that the local defense unit has a double pur- 
pose : to preserve peace and order within its own commu- 
nity, and to train material for the National Army (see 
Paragraphs 1-3). Every drill should be conducted with 
both functions clearly in mind; the men should be taught 
to be soldiers, for the time being, both because discipline 
and drill are essential to effective local defense, and be- 
cause they are the first lessons to be learned in case the 



DRILL 137 

far greater service is later to be undertaken. Thus work 
which has no direct place in local defense, but which is an 
important part of Army training, may properly be in- 
cluded in the drill and instruction program of the 
local defense unit. Officers and enlisted men who have 
special enthusiasm for military science, who hope to 
enter the Federal service as volunteers, or who are within 
the provisions of the draft law, may profitably devote 
additional time to the study of applied minor tactics, 
map reading and map making, military hygiene and san- 
itation, company field training, trench warfare, field 
artillery materiel and tactics, army paperwork, military 
law, and any others of the scores of subjects concerning 
which the Army officer of to-day should be informed. 

202. Text and Reference Books. — The following list 
of text-books, manuals and reference books is given, not 
as in any sense indicating a complete military library, 
but simply to point out some of the most useful guides 
for the officers and enlisted men of any local defense unit. 
The books listed may be ordered through any local book- 
seller, or through the United States Infantry Association, 
814 Seventeenth Street, Washington, D. C. The follow- 
ing abbreviations are used to indicate the publishers of 
the largest number of military text-books: M, National 
Military Publishing Company, 1919 Broadway, New 
York City; B, George Banta Publishing Company, 
Menasha, Wisconsin; S, Army Service Schools, Fort 
Leavenworth, Kansas; G, Government Printing Office, 
Washington, D. C. The prices here given are according 
to recent lists, but cannot be guaranteed. 



GENERAL DRILL AND MILITARY INSTRUCTION 

Infantry Drill Regulations (M); 50 cents. (The funda- 
mental text-book, a copy of which should be in every 
man's possession.) 

Manual of Interior Guard Duty (M) ; 50 cents. 

The Cantonment Manual, by W. G. Kilner and A. J. 
MacElroy; $1.00. (The most convenient compen- 
dium of essential material from the various 
manuals.) 

The Plattsburg Manual, by O. 0. Ellis and E. B. Garey; 
$2.00. (The most lucid drill manual for recruits.) 

Manual of Military Training, by James A. Moss (B); 
$2.25. (The standard and most complete summary 
of general information regarding the elements of 
military training.) 

Manual for Noncommissioned Officers and Privates of 
Infantry of the Organized Militia and Volunteers of 
the United States (M) ; 50 cents. 

Riot Duty, by James A. Moss (B) ; 50 cents. (The stand- 
ard text-book for mob tactics; see Paragraph 180.) 

Noncommissioned Officers' Manual, by James A. Moss 
(B);$1.50. 

Infantry Training, by D. F. McDonald (B); $1.00. 

Customs of the Service, by Charles Miller (S) ; 15 cents. 

The Soldier's Guide, by J. M. Hutchinson (M); $1.25. 

139 



140 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 

Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy and 
Discipline, by M. B. Stewart (B); 50 cents. 

Complete United States Infantry Guide, by C. M. Tobin 
and J. K. Parsons; $5.00. (The most detailed and 
inclusive summary of the entire subject.) 

Police Reserve and Home Defense Guard Manual, by 
W. A. Dawkins and C. F. Cahalane; $1.00. (Con- 
tains much useful information for the policeman on 
his beat, but nothing regarding organization or 
tactics for crowd or riot duty.) 

Self-Helps for the Citizen Soldier, by James A. Moss (B) ; 
$1.25. 

Privates' Manual, by James A. Moss (B); $1.00. 

What Sammy's Doing, by James A. Moss and W. H. 
Waldron (B) ; 75 cents. 

Selective Service Manual, by A. L. James, Jr.; 50 cents. 

Army and Navy Uniforms and Insignia, by Dion Williams; 
$1.25. 

Do's and Don't's in the Army, by Harold Hersey ; 50 cents. 

Quick Training for War, by Sir Robert Baden-Powell; 
50 cents. 

Our Military History, by Leonard Wood; $1.00. 

Manuals for Officers 

Officers' Manual, by James A. Moss (B); $2.50. (The 

standard book, particularly valuable because of its 

chapter on riot duty.) 
Fundamentals of Military Service, by Lincoln C. Andrews; 

$1.50. (An excellent book, with a valuable chapter 

On riot duty.) 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 141 

The Reserve Officers' Handbook, by S. J. Sutherland; 

$1.25. 
Leadership and Military Training, by Lincoln C. Andrews; 

$1.00. (A book of exceptional importance.) 
An Officer's Notes, by R. M. Parker; $2.00. 
What a Company Officer Should Know, by J. C. Mc- 

Arthur; $2.00. 
Rapid Training Recruits, by M. V. Campbell; $1.00. 



Field Service and Tactics 

Field Service Regulations (M) ; 75 cents. 

Rules of Land Warfare (M) ; 75 cents. 

Company Training in the Attack and the Defense, by 
James A. Moss (B) ; 50 cents. 

Small Problems for Infantry, by A. W. Bjornstad (G). 

The Technique of Modern Tactics, by P. S. Bond and 
M. J. McDonough (B); $2.65. (The standard text- 
book on the subject.) 

Applied Minor Tactics, by James A. Moss (B); $1.25. 

Militia Field Manual, by C. R. Guild and F. C. Gest; 
$1.00. 

Scouting, Map Work and Signalling 

Scouting and Patrolling, by W. H. Waldron (B); 25 cents. 

(See Paragraph 182.) 
Exercises for Systematic Scout Instruction; $1.25. 
Aids to Scouting, by Sir Robert Baden-Powell; 40 cents. 
Catechism of Outpost Duty, by A. L. Wagner; 50 cents. 



142 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 






Practical Instruction in Security and Information for the 
Noncommissioned Officer of Infantry, by E. K. 
Massee; 50 cents. 

Military Sketching and Map Reading for Noncommis- 
sioned Officers, by L. C. Grieves; $1.25. 

Training Manual in Topography, Map Reading and Re- 
connaissance, by G. R. Spalding (G). 

Manual of Military Map Making and Reading, by J. M. 
Hutchinson and A. J. MacElroy; 75 cents. 

Map Reading and Intelligence Training, by C. D. A. 
Barber; $2.50. 

Handbook of Military Signalling, by H. A. Giddings; 60 
cents. 

Signal Book, United States Army (M) ; 35 cents. 

Administration and Paperwork 

Regulations for the Army of the United States (M); 

$1.00. 
Army Paperwork, by James A. Moss (B) ; $2.00. 
Manual of Military Court-Martial (M); $1.10. 
Army Paperwork, by An Army Officer; $1.00. 
Outline of Lessons in Company Administration, by L. C. 

Grieves (S); 15 cents. 
Company Administration, by W. H. Waldron; $1.25. 
Regimental and Company Forms (M) ; 85 cents. 
Adjutant's Manual, by C. Nixon; $1.00. 
Extracts from Army Regulations (B); $1.25. 
Company Commanders' Manual of Army Regulations, 

by W.H. Waldron; $1.00, 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 143 

Small Arms and Machine Guns 

Small Arms Instructors' Manual; 60 cents. (The most 
t useful condensation of information regarding the 

Army rifle and pistol.) 
Small Arms Firing Manual (M) ; 75 cents. 
Description and Rules for the Management of the United 

States Rifle (Pamphlet No. 1923) (G). 
Description of the Automatic Pistol (Pamphlet No. 1715) 

(G). 
Instruction for the Care and Repair of Small Arms and 

Ordnance Equipment (Pamphlet No. 1965) (G). 
United States Rifles and Machine Guns, by F. H. Colvin 

and E. Viall; $3.00. 
How to Shoot a Revolver/by W. P. Hall; 50 cents. 
Notes on the Machine Gun and its Tactics, by W. J. 

O'Loughlin (S); 15 cents. 
Field Book for Machine Gunners, by E. B. Cole; $1.00. 
Book of the Machine Gun, by F. V. Longstaff and A. H. 

Atteridge; $3.50. 
Machine Gun Practice and Tactics, by K. B. McKellar; 

90 cents. 

Bayonet Drill 

Bayonet Training and Practical Bayonet Fighting (M); 

75 cents. (See Paragraph 199.) 
Ten Lessons in Bayonet Fighting, by S. F. Mashbir (B); 

75 cents. (See Paragraph 199.) 
Notes on Bayonet Training (No. 1, March, 1917; No. 2, 

August, 1917) (G). (See Paragraph 199.) 



144 MANUAL FOR LOCAL DEFENSE 

Hand-to-Hand Fighting, by A. E. Marriott; $1.00. 
Bayonet Fighting, by Leopold McLaglen (M) ; 75 cents. 
Manual of Bayonet Exercises and Musketry Fencing, by 
H. Tupes and S. Poole; 50 cents. 

Physical Training, Hygiene and Sanitation 

Manual of Physical Training (M) ; 75 cents. 

Elements of Field Hygiene and Sanitation, by J. H. 
Ford; $1.25. 

Manual of Military Hygiene, by V. Havard; $5.00. 

Military Hygiene, by F. R. Keefer; $1.50. 

The Care of Troops, by F. S. Macy; $1.00. 

Manual of Physical Drill, by E. L. Butts; $1.25. 

Manual of Physical Drill, by E. B. Garey; $1.00. 

Physical Development of the Infantry Soldier, by M. B. 
Stewart; 75 cents. 

Single Stick Drill, by W. J. Cromie; 25 cents. (See Par- 
agraph 194.) 

Supply and Mess 

Manual for Army Cooks (M) ; 75 cents. 

Notes on Messing of Organizations, by W. J. O'Loughlin 

(S) ; 15 cents. 
Quartermasters' Manual (M) ; $3.00. 
Quartermaster and Ordnance Supply, by L. C. Marshall; 

$1.50. 
Mess Sergeants' Handbook, by L. R. Holbrook; $1.00, 

(See Paragraph 62.) 
Mess Officers' Assistant, by L. R. Holbrook; $1.00. 






BIBLIOGRAPHY 145 

Trench Warfare 

Attack in Trench Warfare, by A. Laff argue; 50 cents. 

Trench Fighting, by F. H. Elliott; $1.50. 

The New Platoon Instructor, by T. H. Gillman; $2.50. 

How to Live at the Front, by Hector MacQuarrie; $1.25. 

The War of Positions, by Paul Azan; $1.25. 

Trench Warfare, by James A. Moss (B); $1.25. 

Bombs and Hand Grenades, by B. Smith; $2.00. 

Warfare of Today, by Paul Azan; $2.50. 

Small Problems for Trench Warfare, by Elbridge Colby (S). 



INDEX 



PAR. 

Absences 30-31 

Abuse . 86 

Administration. .7-41, 55, 

59-65, 134 

Age Limits 10 

Ambulance Company. . . . 17, 65 

Ammunition 39, 43-51, 200 

Appointments 37 

Approaching Crowd . . 137- 

138, 156, 177 

Armories 28-29, 38 

Arms. See Rifles, Shotguns, 
Revolvers, Riot Sticks, 
Artillery. 

Arm Signals 126, 129 

Arrests 80, 82, 122, 189 

Artillery 50, 188 

Assembling from Deploy- 
ments 104-115, 144 

Assembly, Unlawful 80 

Attacking Crowd .... 122, 

139-150, 161-163 

Attacking Houses 188-189 

Attacking Mob 171-179 

Automobiles. .20-29, 61, 90, 

155, 157 
See also Motor Patrols. 



PAR. 

Barracks 89, 91 

Battalion 17 

Bayonets, Equipment. .44, 199 
Bayonets, Use of. .4, 98- 

101, 141, 170, 178 

Blank Cartridges 100 

Blankets 57, 60 

Bluff 4, 48, 100 

Books of Reference. .67, 

180, 202 

Bridges 184 

Bugles 63, 91, 197 

Buildings 50, 139-143, 

185-189 

Cars ..168, 184 

Cavalry 183 

Character 11 

Close Order 101, 192 

Coats 53 

Command, Centralized .... 85 
Commands, Prescribed 

103-119, 129-130 
Company Administration 

7-41, 55, 59-65, 134 

Compensation 87 

Competitions 27, 30 

147 



148 



INDEX 



PAR. 

Concentration 168 

Confirming Orders 96 

Cooking 60, 62, 89 

Cots 60, 89, 141 

Council of Administra- 
tion 61 

Counter-attack 186 

Cover.. 140, 142, 159, 188, 200 

Crowd, Nature of 71-75 

Crowd Tactics, Application 

132-151, 196 
Crowd Tactics, Formations 

101-131, 196 
Crowd Tactics, Preventive 

79-82, 93-94 
Crowd Tactics, Principles 

152-172 
Crowd, Weapons Against 

97-100 

Decision, Prompt 159 

Defense. .124-125, 145-150, 

168, 185 

Definitions, Tactical 70 

Deployed Line, Formation 

101-124 
Deployed Line, Use of. . 145- 

150, 169, 171, 176 

Detraining 137, 142, 157 

Diagonal, Formation . . . 102-126 
Diagonal, Use of. .80, 146- 

147, 169 



PAR. 



PAR. 

Discipline . . .8, 83-86, 130, 192 

Dispersing Crowds 97-174 

Districts, Military. .78, 94, 134 
Drill.. 30-44, 69, 121, 191-201 
Duty Roster 63, 91 



Election of Officers .... 37 

Enlistment 10-14 

Equipment.. 14, 28, 42-68, 89 
Estimating Situation. .75, 

133, 136 

Examinations 37 

Excuses 30-31 

Field Guns 50, 188 

Fire Department 174, 190 

Fire Tactics ,. . 176-179 

Firing on Crowd. .98, 172-173 

First Aid 57, 63, 65, 198 

Flags, Signal 63 

Flanks.. 137, 139, 158 162, 

172, 177 

Flash Lights 129 

Food 62, 89, 141, 150, 186 

Formation of Crowd .... 74-75 
Formations, Crowd Tactics 

101-120 
Forms, Administrative . 13- 

14, 32-33, 63, 96 

Fortified Positions 50, 188 

Funds 51, 55, 64 



J 



INDEX 



149 



PAR. 

Galleries, Shooting 39, 200 

Garages.... 25-26, 80, 137, 148 
Guarding Property. .155, 

168, 184-187 

Hall for Drill 38 

Headquarters . . . 33-40, 66- 

67, 77 

Hesitation 138, 159 

Home, Men at 28, 88-90 

Hose, Fire 174 

Hospital Sergeants. . 17, 63, 

65, 191, 198 
Houses 185-189 

Impartiality 87 

Information. ...77-78, 136, 154 

Insignia 52 

Inspections. .51, 56, 63, 89, 91 

Instruction 34-36, 190 

Interior Guard Duty.. . .91, 195 

Interior Lines 166 

Interior Tactics 70, 185-187 

Laws 52, 80, 82 

Leadership, Crowd 73 

Local Conditions. .41, 58, 68, 89 
Local Defense, Problem of. . 1-6 
Loitering 80-81 

Machine Guns 50 

Manuals 4, 6, 67, 180, 202 



PAR. 

Maps 66 

March, Security of 137, 158 

Medical Inspections 10, 63 

Meetings and Crowds. . . .74, 80 

Meetings, Officers' 35 

Mess 62, 89, 141, 150, 186 

Military Districts. .78, 94, 134 

Mission 1-5, 41-43, 68-70 

Mobilization. . 19-29, 76, 80, 

135, 153 

Mob, Nature of 71-74, 175 

Mob Tactics 175-180 

Motor Cycles 60-61 

Motor Patrols in Action 

150-151, 167 
Motor Patrols, Preventive 

94-95, 168, 183-184 
Motor Trucks. See Trucks. 

Mounted Men 183 

Municipal Ordinances 80 

National Army 2, 201 

National Defense Act 52 

Nature of Crowd 71-73 

Need of Local Defense 2-3 

Noncommissioned Officers 

16, 30-31, 34, 130, 192 
Notification System. .20-24, 133 
Number of Men. .9, 15-16, 128 

Oath of Enlistment 12 

Obedience 86 



150 



INDEX 



PAR. 

Officers. . . .16-37, 84, 128, 131 

Offices 32, 40 

One Direction, Moving 

Crowd in . 80 

Open Country Tactics. .70, 

181-184 
Open Space, Crowd in 

171-172 
Order to Fire.. 138, 172- 

173, 179 

Orders 32-33, 86, 96, 141 

Organization 7-41 

Outdoor Drill 38, 191 

Outposts 185 

Paperwork 32-33, 96 

Parallel Advance 177 

Passes 91 

Patrols.. 80, 93, 173, 182, 185 
See also Motor Patrols. 

Peace Officers 82 

Personal Equipment 56-58 

Physical Requirements .... 10 

Physical Training 191 

Pickets 95, 184 

Pistols. See Revolvers. 
Plan of Action.. 79, 133- 

143, 164 
Platoon Formations . . 101- 

119, 146 
Point of Mobilization. .25, 

29, 135, 153 



PAR. 

Police, Cooperation with 

77, 190 

Policing Quarters 91 

Precision 8, 83-84, 121, 

130, 192 

Preparing for Mob 92, 170 

Preventive Mission.. 1, 5, 

74-79 

Principles, Tactical 152-168 

Problem of Local Defense . . 1-6 

Promotions 37 

Prompt Action. .74-79, 137, 

159, 179 
Property, Guarding. .87, 

155, 168, 184-187 

Protecting Flanks 137, 172 

Purchase of Equipment. .47, 

51, 55 

Quarters 38, 89, 91 

Railroads 184 

Ranges, Rifle 39, 200 

Rapid Mobilization 27, 76 

Rear 139, 172 

Records 31-33, 55 

Reinforcements . . 126, 128, 

142, 148 
Reference Books. .67, 180, 202 
Reports, Active Service 

80, 96, 136, 141, 151, 165 
Reports, Routine 31-33, 63 



INDEX 



151 



PAR. 

Reserve, Arms for. .45, 99, 170 
Reserve, Need of. .92, 127, 

163, 168 
Reserve, Use of. .80, 84, 

126, 146, 150 
Responsibility of Officers 

84, 128, 131 

Restrictions, Local 81 

Revolvers, Equipment. .39, 

47, 51, 200 
Revolvers, Use of. .98, 173, 178 
Rifles, Crowd Tactics. .4, 

98-101, 127, 141, 173 
Rifles, Equipment. .39, 43- 

45, 51, 199, 200 
Rifles, Miscellaneous Service 

181, 187-188, 191 
Rifles, Mob Tactics. . . .170, 178 
Riot Sticks, Equipment. . .48-51 
Riot Sticks, Use of.. 101, 

187, 193-194 

Rosters 22, 30-33, 63, 91 

Routine in Quarters 91 

Saloons 75, 80 

Schools, Officers'.. 31-35, 

190, 192 

Scout Duty 182 

Section Formations . . 106- 

123, 145, 149 

Security of March 137, 158 

Sentries, Arms for. .45, 99, 173 



PAR. 

Sentries, Use of. .91, 140, 

150, 185-187, 195 

Setting-Up Exercises 191 

Sharpshooters, Crowd Tac- 
tics.... 45, 98, 137, 158, 173 
Sharpshooters, Mob Tactics 

175, 186, 189 

Shock Action 101, 126, 146 

Shoes 54 

Shotguns, Crowd Tactics 

127, 148, 172-173 
Shotguns, Equipment. .46, 

51, 200 
Shotguns, Mob Tactics 

178, 181, 187 

Sidewalk, Clearing 123, 169 

Signals.. 24, 63, 126, 129, 197 

Single Stick Drill 194 

Situation, Estimating. .75, 

133, 136 

Size of Units 9, 15-16 

Skirmish Line 101-102, 117 

Spectators 73, 138 

Squad Formations .. 103- 

123, 144 

Squad Organization 30 

Staff 17-18 

State Laws 52, 80, 82 

Straggling 84 

StreetCars 93, 168 

Strikes. .74-81, 87, 93, 133-151 
Supplies. See Equipment. 



152 INDEX 



DAP 



PAR. PAR. 

Supply Records.. 14, 32-33, 55 Trucks, Company. .26, 29, 

Supports 125, 144-150, 60-61, 90 

163, 172 Trucks, Tactical Use. .137- 

Surgeon...l7, 57, 63, 65, 142, 159 

191, 198 Typewriters 60-61, 67, 96 

Surprise 25, 160 

Uniforms 14, 52-55 

Tactics, General Types. . .69-70 Unlawful Assembly 80 

See Crowd, Mob, Open Unloaded Weapons 100 

Country and Interior Tac- Ununiformed men. .77, 80, 

tics. 136, 154 
Telephone and Telegraph 

20-23, 60-61, 67, 141 Warrants 37 

Tents 60 Wedge, Formation 102-126 

Tests of Organization. . .27, 121 Wedge, Use of 84, 144-150 

To the Rear. . 105, 108, 114, Whistles 63, 126 

122, 144 Witness of Arrest 82 

Training for Army 2, 201 Written Orders and Reports 96 






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VI Plurals and Feminines 

VII Pronouns 

VIII The Verb 

IX Some Remarks on the Verb 

X Vocabularies and Conversations 

XI Correspondence 

PART II 

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II Officers 
III Vocabularies and Conversations 

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I French-English Vocabulary 
II English-French Vocabulary 



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